Sun Mingming
 Sun Mingming | |
| Free agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
August 23, 1983 Bayan County, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Listed height | 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) |
| Listed weight | 370[1] lb (168 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2005 / Undrafted |
| 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 |
| 2009–2014 | Beijing Ducks |
Mingming Sun (simplified Chinese: 孙明明; traditional Chinese: 孫明明; pinyin: Sūn Míngmíng, born August 23, 1983) is a Chinese free agent professional basketball player who lastly played for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. Sun wears size 20 shoes and makes occasional appearances as an actor. He is also currently the tallest professional basketball player in the world.
Sun was measured by the Guinness World Records and stands at 7 feet and 8.98 inches on barefoot;[2] Sun also weighs at 370 lbs.
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.[3] He did not start playing basketball until he was 15 years old.[4]
Basketball career
In the US
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,[5] but he was not selected in the draft.
Sun played with several American minor league teams, including the USBL team Dodge City Legend,[1] the ABA team Maryland Nighthawks,[6] and the IBL team Grand Rapids Flight.
In Mexico and Japan
Later Sun played in the Mexican league with Fuerza Regia[7] and in Japan's bj league with Hamamatsu Phoenix.
Return to China
In 2009 he returned to China to play for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), after playing with the Heilongjiang Club in China's National Basketball League (CNB). Sun later become a member of the 2012 CBA Finals and 2014 CBA Finals championship winning teams.
In the media
Sun has made several television appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 11, 2006.[8] 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.[9] He also appeared in a fight scene with actors Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the film Rush Hour 3.[10]
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 Mureșan.
Personal life
In the summer of 2005, Sun discovered that he had a benign tumor attached to his pituitary gland.[11] 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.[12] The tumor was successfully removed on September 26, 2005.[13]
On 9 September 2015, he was recognized as the Guinness World Record holder for the tallest married couple together with his wife, handball player Xu Yan. Combined their height stands at 13 ft 10 in. (4.23 m)[2]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Rush Hour 3 | giant | film |
| TBA | China's Good Groom (中国好新郎) | upcoming film | |
| TBA | Singing All Along (秀麗江山之長歌行) | giant | upcoming TV series |
References
- 1 2 Kinder, Joshua. "Legend Signs World's Seventh Tallest Man". Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- 1 2 Lynch, Kevin. "Record holder profile: Meet Sun Mingming and Xu Yan - the world's tallest married couple". www.guinnessworldsrecords.com. Guinness World Records. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Official website".
- ↑ Sierra, Jorge (January 15, 2006). "Sun Ming Ming: 'The NBA is a realistic goal'". Times Online. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ↑ Yan, Wang (February 2, 2007). "Towering Sun joins ABA's Maryland Nighthawks". Xinhau. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ↑ "Maryland Nighthawks officially sign 7'8" Sun Ming Ming". January 31, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ↑ "Chinese giant Sun Ming Ming set to play in Mexico". The China Post (Monterrey, Mexico: AFP). 21 June 2007. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
- ↑ "Sun Ming Ming". Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ↑ Yan, Wang (October 9, 2007). "Super-tall Sun Ming Ming dreams of NBA career". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 18, 2007). "Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan In For Giant Surprise In 'Rush Hour 3'". MTV. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ↑ "Surgery May Help Giant Achieve NBA Dreams". ABC. November 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ↑ "Fundraiser Launched To Get Life-Saving Surgery For Basketball Player Sun Ming Ming". Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ↑ "Basketball Player Sun Ming Ming has Successful Surgery to Remove a Tumor on His Pituitary Gland". PRWeb.com (Press release). Ventura, California. September 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
External links
- Sun Ming Ming at the Internet Movie Database
- An article about him in Al-Ahram (Arabic)