Maybe the commonalities is that really tall guys tend to be at higher risk for heart issues? It's just more taxing for the heart to pump blood a longer distance even if you are relatively fit (and some of these ex-players got pretty heavy after retirement).
Guy was probably fully 6'9 - 6'10 barefoot which is extremely tall. I don't doubt that there could be some congenital disorder of the heart..... Rodman looks like a zombie in a video game in that pic.