Gheorghe Mureşan

Infobox NBA Player
name = Gheorghe Mureşan
nickname = Ghiță


image_size = 250px
league =
height_ft = 7
height_in = 7
weight_lbs= 300
position = Center
birth_date = birth date and age|1971|2|14
birth_place = Triteni, Romania
college = Cluj University
nationality = Romanian
draft = 2nd round, 30th overall
draft_team = Washington Bullets
draft_year = 1993
former_teams = Pau-Orthez (1992–1993)
Washington Bullets (1993–1994)
Pau-Orthez (1995)
Washington Bullets (1995–1997)
New Jersey Nets (1998–2000)
Pau-Orthez (2000–2001)
career_start = 1992
career_end = 2003
awards = 1995-96 NBA Most Improved Player

Gheorghe Dumitru Mureşan, also known as Ghiță (IPA2|gi.ʦə) and "George" (born February 14, 1971 in Triteni, Romania), is a retired Romanian professional basketball player. At 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m), he is the tallest man to ever play in the NBA, standing a few millimeters taller than Sudanese player Manute Bol. Like Bol, both his parents are of average size, but unlike Bol his great height is the result of a pituitary disorder.

NBA career

Mureşan was born in the Romanian district of Cluj in a poor family and played college basketball at Cluj University. He played professionally in the French league with Pau-Orthez during the 1992-1993 season and was an instant hit with fans. The NBA took interest in him and he was drafted by the Washington Bullets in the 1993 NBA Draft. He played in the NBA from 1993 to 2000, showing signs of a promising career that was derailed by injuries.

After returning to France and playing for the start of the 1995-96 season with Pau-Orthez, he was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 1995-96 season after averaging 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.26 blocks per game whilst making a league-leading 58.4 percent of his field goals. He led in field goal percentage again the following season, with a 60.4% average. Overall, he holds career averages of 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.48 blocks per game and a .573 field goal percentage. He joined the New Jersey Nets for the final 31 games of his career. After retiring from the NBA, Mureşan returned to the French league for three more years before returning to settle in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with his family. He normally wore number 77, in reference to his height.

Personal life

Outside of basketball, Mureşan has dabbled in acting, playing the title character in 1998 film "My Giant" with his co-star, comedian Billy Crystal. He also played a ventriloquist in Eminem's breakout video "My Name Is", appeared in commercials for Snickers bars and ESPN, and has always taken pride in his Romanian identity.Fact|date=February 2007 On March 11, 2007, he played a game for the Maryland Nighthawks as part of the tallest lineup in the history of basketball. [cite news | first= | last= | author= | url= http://www.marylandnighthawks.com/news_03_11_07.htm | title= World Record Game End with Wild Finish, Nighthawks Win 132-128 | work= | publisher= | pages= | page= | date= March 11, 2007 | accessdate= 2007-04-30] This is also the only basketball game he's ever played where he is not the tallest person on the court, as Sun Ming Ming is 7 ft 9 in -2 inches taller.

External links

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* [http://www.interbasket.net/players/muresan.htm Gheorghe Muresan Player Profile (InterBasket)]
* [http://hoopsanalyst.com/Muresan.htm Article on Gheorghe Mureşan @ hoopsanalyst.com]
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* [http://www.geocities.com/big_gheorghe77 Gheorghe Mureşan fansite]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt8RG_OJyL8 Georghe Muresan ESPN Commercial]
* [http://nishi.basket-autos.fr/ Georghe Muresan Trading Cards/ Autographs Page]