Sun Ming Ming

Infobox NBA Player
name = Sun Ming Ming


caption =
height_ft = 7 | height_in = 9| weight_lb = 320
position = Center
nickname = The Beast of the East
birth_date = birth date and age|1983|8|23
birth_place = Harbin, China
death_date =
death_place =
former_teams = Dodge City Legend (2006)
Maryland Nighthawks (2007)
Fuerza Regia (2007-08)
college =
league = IBL
team = Grand Rapids Flight
nationality = Chinese
draft = Undrafted
career_start = 2006
career_end =
awards =

Sun Ming Ming (zh-tsp|t=孫明明|s=孙明明|p=Sūn Míngmíng, born August 23, 1983) is a Chinese basketball player. He is one of the tallest players to ever play professional basketball. [cite news | first= Bob | last= Becker | author= | url= http://www.newhouse.com/7-foot-9-inch-player-manages-to-handle-height,-foreign-culture-4.html | title= 7-Foot-9-Inch Player Manages To Handle Height, Foreign Culture | work= | publisher= | pages= | page= | date= 2007 | accessdate= 2007-04-30] He is 7 ft 9 in (236 cm), weighing 370 pounds (168 kg).cite news | first= Joshua | last= Kinder | author= | url= http://www.dodgecitylegend.com/news_060409.html | title= Legend Signs World's Seventh Tallest Man | work= | publisher= | pages= | page= | date= | accessdate= 2007-04-30]

Basketball career

Early life

He was born in a small town called Bayan near Harbin, China, in the Heilongjiang province. Sun did not start playing basketball until he was 15, when he was 6 ft 7 in. [cite news | first= Jorge | last= Sierra | author=
url= http://www.hoopshype.com/interviews/sun_sierra.htm | title= Sun Ming Ming: "The NBA is a realistic goal" | work= | publisher= Times Online | pages= | page= | date= January 15, 2006 | accessdate= 2007-04-30]

Career in the United States

Sun came to the United States in early 2005 to train for a possible career in the NBA. He was declared eligible in the 2005 NBA Draft, and had a brief tryout with the Los Angeles Lakers, [cite news | first= Wang | last= Yan | author= | url= http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/02/content_5686056.htm
title= Towering Sun joins ABA's Maryland Nighthawks | work= | publisher= Xinhau | pages= | page= | date= February 2, 2007 | accessdate= 2007-04-30] but was not selected in the draft.

In the summer of 2005, Sun discovered that he had a benign brain tumor attached to his pituitary gland that was stimulating the over-production of growth hormone, a potentially fatal condition known as acromegaly [cite news | first= | last= | author= | url= http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2685447&page=1 | title= Surgery May Help Giant Achieve NBA Dreams | work= | publisher= ABC | pages= | page= | date= November 28, 2006 | accessdate= 2008-03-13] . Because he had neither health insurance nor enough money to pay for the more than $100,000 in medical bills, his agent, Charles Bonsignore, started a fund raiser to raise the necessary funds. [cite web
url = http://www.scanews.com/2005/09/s787/78720/
title = Fundraiser Launched To Get Life-Saving Surgery For Basketball Player Sun Ming Ming
accessdate = 2008-03-13 ] The tumor was successfully removed on September 26, 2005. [ [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/9/prweb291522.htm 7'9 Basketball Player Sun Ming Ming has Successful Surgery to Remove a Tumor on His Pituitary Gland] PRweb.]

After surgery, Sun played with several minor league basketball teams, including the USBL team Dodge City Legend, the Maryland Nighthawks of the ABA [cite news | first= | last= | author= | url= http://www.marylandnighthawks.com/news_01_31_07.htm
title= Maryland Nighthawks officially sign 7'8" Sun Ming Ming | work= | publisher= | pages= | page= | date= January 31, 2007 | accessdate= 2007-04-30] and the Grand Rapids Flight of the IBL.

On June 20, 2007, Sun signed with Mexican professional team Fuerza Regia from Monterrey. [cite news | first= | last= | author= | url= http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19062007/3/chinese-giant-sun-ming-ming-set-play-mexico.html
title= Chinese giant Sun Ming Ming set to play in Mexico | work= | publisher= AFP | pages= | page= | date= June 19, 2007 | accessdate= 2008-03-13]

In the media

Sun has made several television appearances, including on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show on October 11, 2006. [cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2416539/ | title=Sun Ming Ming | accessdate = 2008-03-13] He was also the subject of a documentary television show, "Anatomy of a Giant", which was originally broadcast on the Discovery Health Channel on October 15, 2006.cite news | first= Wang | last= Yan | author= | url= http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2006-10/09/content_703642.htm | title= Super-tall Sun Ming Ming dreams of NBA career | work= | publisher= Reuters | pages= | page= | date= October 9, 2007 | accessdate= 2008-03-13] He also appeared in a fight scene with actors Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the film "Rush Hour 3". [cite news | first= Jennifer | last= Vineyard | author= | url= http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1550181/20070117/story.jhtml | title= Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan In For Giant Surprise In 'Rush Hour 3' | work= | publisher= MTV | pages= | page= | date= January 18, 2007 | accessdate= 2007-04-30]

On March 11, 2007, Sun was a part of the tallest lineup in the world, a Guinness World Record, with four players over 7-foot, including former NBA player Gheorghe Mureşan. [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] Ming wears a size 20 sneaker.

References

External links

* [http://www.sevenfootnine.com Sun's Official Website]