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How Big Is a Basketball?

A basketball is about 9.4 in (24 cm) across. That is about 7.1 times smaller than the average man. A men's regulation basketball.

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How big is a basketball compared to the average man?

A basketball is about 7.1 times smaller than the average man. The average man is 7.1× the size of a basketball: about 7.1 basketballs stacked up would match it. By volume, about 8.7 basketballs would fit inside the average man.

Basketball size facts

A size 7 basketball is about 24 cm (9.4 in) across.

How does a basketball compare to other things?

A basketball next to 25 things of similar size, plus some everyday references:

Thing	Size	Compared to Basketball
Sun	865,000 miles (1,393,000 km) across	5.8 billion× bigger
Earth	7,920 miles (12,740 km) across	53.1 million× bigger
Mount Everest	5.5 miles (8.849 km)	36,900× bigger
Eiffel Tower	1,083 ft (330 m)	1,380× bigger
School bus	40 ft (12.2 m) long	50.8× bigger
Average man (world)	5 ft 7 in (171 cm)	7.1× bigger
Average woman (world)	5 ft 3 in (159 cm)	6.6× bigger
1-year-old	2 ft 5.5 in (75 cm)	3.1× bigger
Common raven	2 ft 1 in (63 cm) long	1 ft 3.5 in (39 cm) bigger
Jyoti Amge	2 ft 0.5 in (63 cm)	1 ft 3.5 in (39 cm) bigger
Great horned owl	1 ft 9.5 in (55 cm)	1 ft 0 in (31 cm) bigger
Chandra Bahadur Dangi	1 ft 9.5 in (55 cm)	1 ft 0 in (31 cm) bigger
Newborn baby	1 ft 7.5 in (50 cm)	10 in (26 cm) bigger
American crow	1 ft 5.5 in (45 cm) long	8.3 in (21 cm) bigger
Goliath birdeater	11 in (28 cm) long	1.6 in (4 cm) bigger
Soccer ball	8.7 in (22 cm) across	0.79 in (2 cm) smaller
Bowling ball	8.6 in (21.8 cm) across	0.87 in (2.2 cm) smaller
Dwarf lanternshark	7.9 in (20 cm) long	1.6 in (4 cm) smaller
Pencil	7.5 in (19 cm) long	2 in (5 cm) smaller
Banana	7.1 in (18 cm) long	2.4 in (6 cm) smaller
House mouse	6.7 in (17 cm) long	2.8 in (7 cm) smaller
Smartphone	5.8 in (14.7 cm)	3.7 in (9.3 cm) smaller
Monarch butterfly	3.9 in (10 cm) long	5.5 in (14 cm) smaller
Credit card	3.4 in (8.56 cm) long	6.1 in (15.4 cm) smaller
Apple	3.1 in (8 cm) long	3× smaller

Where do these numbers come from?

Sizes are typical adult or reported values, rounded for readability. Read how we measure and compare sizes.