'''Sun Ming Ming''' (孫明明) is a Chinese basketball player. He wears size 19 shoes, weighs at least 335 pounds (152 kg) (some sources say as high as 370 pounds (168 kg) http://www.dodgecitylegend.com/news_060409.html), and stands at 7 foot 8 and 3/4 inches (236 cm) - making him one of the tallest living persons on the planet. He is from Harbin, China, in the Heilongjiang province, has played for the Junior Olympic team (U-18) and Daqing club, and came to the United States in early 2005 to train for a possible NBA career. Sun was declared eligible in the 2005 NBA Draft, but was not selected, probably due to the common complaint of his lack of speed and stamina.
It was later determined through medical exams that the cause of his lack of endurance is a benign brain tumor attached to his pituitary gland that is stifling testosterone production. It is also stimulating over-production of growth hormone, a condition known as acromegaly, and will lead to premature death if not removed. Surgery was scheduled for August 31 2005, but since Sun did not have health insurance, nor enough money to pay for the surgery, it was re-scheduled and Sun's agent, Charles Bonsignore of Passing Lane Sports, started a fundraiser to raise the necessary funds. After the surgery, Sun returned to the court and appeared in a match between Ventura College and Southeastern Community College of Iowa, and was signed by USBL team Dodge City Legend at March 30, 2006.
Sun has the mass, height, and shooting ability, to be an NBA player - he can even dunk without leaving the ground. If he were to make it into the NBA, he would be the tallest player ever. But his low energy does not allow him to play hard for more than several minutes, also adversely affecting his court speed.
See also
*Ma Jian
*Mengke Bateer
*Wang Zhizhi
*Yao Ming
