Sun Mingming

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Mingming Sun

Sun Mingming
Beijing Ducks
Center
Personal information
Born (1983-08-23) August 23, 1983
Bayan County, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Nationality Chinese
Listed height 7 ft 9 in (236 cm)
Listed weight 370 lb (168 kg)
Career information
Pro playing career 2006–present
Career history
2006 Dodge City Legend
2007 Maryland Nighthawks
2007 Grand Rapids Flight
2007 Fuerza Regia
2008 Grand Rapids Flight
2008–2009 Hamamatsu Phoenix
2009–present Beijing Ducks
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Sun.

Mingming Sun (simplified Chinese: 孙明明; traditional Chinese: 孫明明; pinyin: Sūn Míngmíng, born August 23, 1983) is a Chinese basketball player. It has been argued that he is the tallest player to ever play professional basketball,[1] although Guinness World Records indicates Libyan Suleiman Ali Nashnush was taller.[2] Mingming stands 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) and weighing 370 lb (168 kg).[3] Sun wears size 20 shoes. He also makes occasional appearances as an actor.

Early life

He was born in a small town near in Bayan County, Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, China. He has two siblings: a brother and a sister.[4] He did not start playing basketball until he was 15, when he was 6 ft 7 in.[5]

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,[6] 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.[7] Because he had neither health insurance nor enough money to pay for the more than $100,000 in medical bills, his sports agent, Charles Bonsignore, started a fundraiser to raise the necessary money.[8] The tumor was successfully removed on September 26, 2005.[9]

After his surgery, Sun played with several American minor league teams, including the USBL team Dodge City Legend,[3] the ABA team Maryland Nighthawks,[10] and the IBL team Grand Rapids Flight. Later Sun would play in the Mexican league with Fuerza Regia[11] and in Japan's bj league with Hamamatsu Phoenix. In 2009 he returned to China to play for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), after a decent showing with the Heilongjiang Club in China's National Basketball League (CNB). Sun would later become a member of the 2012 CBA Finals championship winning team.

In the media

Sun has made several television appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 11, 2006.[12] 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.[13] He also appeared in a fight scene with actors Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the film Rush Hour 3.[14]

On March 11, 2007, Sun was a part of the tallest lineup in the world, a Guinness World Record, on the Maryland Nighthawks, with four players over 7 feet tall, including former NBA player Gheorghe Mureşan.

References

  1. ↑ Becker, Bob (2007). "7-Foot-9-Inch Player Manages To Handle Height, Foreign Culture". Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
  2. ↑ Guinness World Records
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kinder, Joshua. "Legend Signs World's Seventh Tallest Man". Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
  4. ↑ "Official website". 
  5. ↑ Sierra, Jorge (January 15, 2006). "Sun Ming Ming: "The NBA is a realistic goal"HE WILL SOME DAY GO TO THE NBA FOR SURE". Times Online. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
  6. ↑ Yan, Wang (February 2, 2007). "Towering Sun joins ABA's Maryland Nighthawks". Xinhau. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
  7. ↑ "Surgery May Help Giant Achieve NBA Dreams". ABC. November 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  8. ↑ "Fundraiser Launched To Get Life-Saving Surgery For Basketball Player Sun Ming Ming". Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  9. ↑ PRweb report on operation
  10. ↑ "Maryland Nighthawks officially sign 7'8" Sun Ming Ming". January 31, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
  11. ↑ "Chinese giant Sun Ming Ming set to play in Mexico". AFP. June 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  12. ↑ "Sun Ming Ming". Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  13. ↑ Yan, Wang (October 9, 2007). "Super-tall Sun Ming Ming dreams of NBA career". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
  14. ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 18, 2007). "Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan In For Giant Surprise In 'Rush Hour 3'". MTV. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 

External links

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