[myownpetard]

17% of Americans that are over 7' are or have been in the NBA.

They only need to be better than a few dozen or hundreds of others at the required skills. The average 7 footer in the NBA is a way better shooter than the average player in the general population and probably better than any average college player. But shooting skill is inversely proportional to height in the NBA for the exact reason the GP stated.

To be something like 6'3'' or shorter in the NBA means you need to be an insane outlier in other skills, better than literally millions of others at your height and hundreds of thousands with your general athleticism.

[xdavidliu]

unless you are Rajon Rondo and your floor general skills are so good that you can get into the NBA while shooting 60% (considered very low) from the charity stripe.