Good luck to this 13 year old in his dreams of making it to NBA ( North American Basketball ) . He’s clearly exceptionally tall, even in comparison to the average adult male Filipino ( around 5’4” ).


Although the article says " Kai’s body is proportional and his moves are coordinated ", hopefully he’s had a medical check up at some stage.


Abnormal growth in children may be caused by excess " growth hormone " production by the pituitary gland ( normally pea-sized, at the base of the brain ). Simple blood tests would support the diagnosis ( " gigantism " ), which needs to be made early - or rule it out. The least unlikely cause of this rare condition is a tumour of the gland which could be confirmed by MRI scan. Such tumours are not cancerous, but cause problems as they grow because of their situation. Surgical removal ( by incising through the nose ) is the best option for cure. If this is not possible there are drugs to prevent growth hormone release, or gamma radiation to destroy the tumour.