Sun Mingming
 Sun Mingming |
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| Beijing Ducks | |
|---|---|
| Center | |
| Personal information | |
| Nickname(s) | The Beast of the East |
| Born | August 23, 1983 Bayan County, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Listed height | 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) |
| Listed weight | 370 lb (168 kg) |
| Career information | |
| Pro career | 2006–present |
| Career history | |
| Dodge City Legend (2006) Maryland Nighthawks (2007) Grand Rapids Flight (2007) Fuerza Regia (2007-08) Hamamatsu Phoenix (2008-09) Beijing Ducks (2009-present) |
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Sun Mingming (simplified Chinese: 孙明明; traditional Chinese: 孫明明; pinyin: Sūn Míngmíng, born August 23, 1983) is a Chinese basketball player. He is one of the tallest players to ever play professional basketball,[1] standing 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) and weighing 370 lb (168 kg).[2] Ming wears size 20 sneakers.[3] He also makes occasional appearances as an actor.
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[edit] 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, when he was 6 ft 7 in.[4]
[edit] 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,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] The tumor was successfully removed on September 26, 2005.[8]
After his surgery, Sun played with several American minor league teams, including the USBL team Dodge City Legend,[2] the ABA team Maryland Nighthawks,[9] and the IBL team Grand Rapids Flight. Later Sun would play in the Mexican league with Fuerza Regia[10] 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).
[edit] In the media
Sun has made several television appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 11, 2006.[11] 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.[12] He also appeared in a fight scene with actors Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the film Rush Hour 3.[13]
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.
[edit] References
- ^ Becker, Bob (2007). "7-Foot-9-Inch Player Manages To Handle Height, Foreign Culture". http://www.newhouse.com/7-foot-9-inch-player-manages-to-handle-height,-foreign-culture-4.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30.[dead link]
- ^ a b Kinder, Joshua. "Legend Signs World's Seventh Tallest Man". http://www.dodgecitylegend.com/news_060409.html. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ a b "Official website". http://www.sevenfootnine.com/welcome.html.
- ^ 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. http://www.hoopshype.com/interviews/sun_sierra.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ Yan, Wang (February 2, 2007). "Towering Sun joins ABA's Maryland Nighthawks". Xinhau. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/02/content_5686056.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ "Surgery May Help Giant Achieve NBA Dreams". ABC. November 28, 2006. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2685447&page=1. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Fundraiser Launched To Get Life-Saving Surgery For Basketball Player Sun Ming Ming". http://www.scanews.com/2005/09/s787/78720/. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ PRweb report on operation
- ^ "Maryland Nighthawks officially sign 7'8" Sun Ming Ming". January 31, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-03-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070329053519/http://www.marylandnighthawks.com/news_01_31_07.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ "Chinese giant Sun Ming Ming set to play in Mexico". AFP. June 19, 2007. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19062007/3/chinese-giant-sun-ming-ming-set-play-mexico.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13.[dead link]
- ^ "Sun Ming Ming". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2416539/. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Yan, Wang (October 9, 2007). "Super-tall Sun Ming Ming dreams of NBA career". Reuters. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2006-10/09/content_703642.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 18, 2007). "Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan In For Giant Surprise In 'Rush Hour 3'". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1550181/20070117/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
[edit] External links
- Official website (English)
- Sun Ming Ming at the Internet Movie Database
