Gheorghe Mureşan

Center
Born	February 14, 1971 (1971-02-14) (age 38) Triteni, Romania
Nationality	Romanian
Listed height	7 ft 7 in (2.31 m)
Listed weight	315 lb (143 kg)
College	Cluj University
Draft	2nd round, 30th overall, 1993 Washington Bullets[1]
Pro career	1992–2003
Former teams	Pau-Orthez (1992–1993; 2000–2001) Washington Bullets (1993–1994; 1995–1997) Pau-Orthez (1995) New Jersey Nets (1998–2000)
Awards	1995-96 NBA Most Improved Player

Gheorghe Dumitru Mureşan, also known as Ghiţă (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈgit͡sə]) and "George" (born February 14, 1971 in Triteni, Romania), is a retired Romanian professional basketball player. At 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m), he is tied with Sudanese player Manute Bol as the tallest man to ever play in the NBA. Like Bol, both his parents are of average size, but unlike Bol his great height is the result of a pituitary disorder.

[edit] NBA career

Mureşan was born in the Romanian district of Cluj in a poor family and played college basketball at Cluj University. He played professionally in the French league with Pau-Orthez during the 1992-1993 season and was an instant hit with fans. The NBA took interest in him and he was selected by the Washington Bullets in the 1993 NBA Draft.^[1] He played in the NBA from 1993 to 1994 showing signs of a promising career that was derailed by injuries.

After returning to France and playing for the start of the 1995-96 season with Pau-Orthez, he was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 1995-96 season after averaging 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.26 blocks per game while making a league-leading 58.4 percent of his field goals. He led in field goal percentage again the following season, with a 60.4% average. Overall, he holds career averages of 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.48 blocks per game and a .573 field goal percentage. He joined the New Jersey Nets for the final 31 games of his career. After retiring from the NBA, Mureşan returned to the French league for three more years before returning to settle in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with his family. He normally wore number 77, in reference to his height.

[edit] Personal life

Mureşan (right) meeting with Nicholas F. Taubman, the U.S. Ambassador to Romania.

Outside of basketball, Mureşan has dabbled in acting, playing the title character in 1998 film My Giant with his co-star, comedian Billy Crystal. He also played a ventriloquist in rap artist Eminem's breakout video "My Name Is", appeared in commercials for Snickers bars and ESPN. On March 11, 2007, he played a game for the Maryland Nighthawks as part of the tallest lineup in the history of basketball.^[2] This is also the only basketball game he's ever played where he is not the tallest person on the court, as Sun Mingming is 7 foot 9 (2.36m) - 2 inches taller.

[edit] See also

• List of tallest people

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Gheorghe Muresan Info Page at NBA.com

• Gheorghe Muresan Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• Gheorghe Muresan Player Profile (InterBasket)
• Article on Gheorghe Mureşan @ hoopsanalyst.com
• Gheorghe Muresan at the Internet Movie Database
• Gheorghe Mureşan fansite
• Georghe Muresan ESPN Commercial
• Georghe Muresan Trading Cards/ Autographs Page