Gheorghe Dumitru Mureşan (IPA: /gi.ʦə/ and "George"), (born February 14, 1971 in Triteni, Romania) is a retired Romanian professional basketball player. At 7' 7" (2.31 m), he is arguably the tallest man to ever play in the NBA, supposedly standing a few millimeters taller than Sudanese player Manute Bol. Like Bol, both his parents are of average size, but unlike Bol his great height is the result of a pituitary disorder.
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 Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez during the 1992-1993 season and was an instant hit with fans. The NBA took interest in him and he was drafted by the Washington Bullets in the 1993 NBA Draft. He played in the NBA from 1993 to 2000, showing signs of a promising career that was derailed by injuries. 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 whilst making a career-high 58.4 percent of his field goals. 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 New Jersey with his family. He normally wore number 77, in reference to his height.
Outside of basketball, Mureşan has dabbled in acting, receiving good reviews[citation needed] playing the title character in 1998 film My Giant with his co-star, comedian Billy Crystal. He also played a ventriloquist in Eminem's breakout video "My Name Is", appeared in commercials for Snickers bars and ESPN, and has always taken pride in his Romanian identity.[citation needed]
Although Mureşan is, to this day, the tallest player in the history of the NBA, his record was at risk in the late 1990's, when North Korean player Michael Ri was attempting to make it to the NBA. Ri's attempts were eventually stifled by the Trading with the Enemy Act, and Ri never played basketball in the NBA.
