Manute Bol (1962-2010)

Manute Bol was a novelty when he entered the NBA in 1985, a 7-7 shot-blocking machine from the Sudan. He's the only player in NBA history to record more blocked shots than points, blocking 2,086 shots, scoring 1,599. He died June 19, 2010, at age 47.

Bol leaped right into the thick of the NBA, tipping off here against Celtics center Robert Parish and eventual 1986 NBA champion Boston. Bol started 60 games that season, averaging 26.1 minutes and a career-high 6.0 rebounds.

Whenever Bol came near 5-foot-7 Spud Webb of the Atlanta Hawks, seen here in 1988, or one-time 5-foot-3 teammate Muggsy Bogues, the two-foot disparity in height was more than enough to grab an alert photographer's attention.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, rarely came out on the short end of center comparisons, but at 7-2, he was five inches shorter than Bol. The 7-foot-7 native of the Sudan averaged a career-high 5.0 blocks per game as a rookie.

Bol joined the Golden State Warriors in 1988. Warriors coach Don Nelson encouraged Bol, who averaged 4.3 blocks per game that season, to shoot 3-pointers on the offensive end. Bol managed to make 22 percent (20-for-91) in the '88-89 season.

Philadelphia forward Charles Barkley celebrates with his teammate Bol during a game played in 1992. When Barkley joined the Suns the next season, Bol sank six 3-pointers on his former teammate's team in one game.

By then a face in the crowd in 2005, Bol shakes hands with referee Dick Bavetta at a Bucks-Bulls game in Chicago. Bol had recently recovered from a serious car accident in Connecticut.

Bol joined fellow Sudan native Luol Deng, now a forward for the Chicago Bulls, in supporting the land of their birth. The two are shown here at Truman College on Jan. 6, 2008, as part of an event backing refugees.