Land Of The Giants

One would think that a team with four seven-footers in the starting lineup wouldn't need a last-second shot to win. But this is the American Basketball Association, where the official rules more resemble Calvinball than anything. Why didn't someone inform us earlier that, in their finale against the Cape Cod Frenzy (yep) on March 11 , the Nighthawks started the tallest lineup in professional basketball history, at least according to the Guinness Book of World Records: Sun Ming Ming (7-foot-9), former Washington Bullet Gheorghe Muresan (7-6), Ayo Adigun (7-1), Deng D'Awol (7-0), and Barry Mitchell (6-8). If stacked on top of each other, they stand 36 feet tall, and yet the Nighthawks finished with a losing record this season (15-17, fourth in their division). Yeah, in retrospect maybe they could have used a guard.

Enjoy this video of the final 10 seconds of their final game, as Maryland's Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones sinks a halfcourt shot to win it. In case you're confused, those count as four points in the ABA. Unless you're touched by the babysitter flag.

World Record Game Ends With Wild Finish, Nighthawks Win 132-128 [Maryland Nighthawks]