Gheorghe Dumitru Mureșan, ( born February 14, 1971), also known as Ghiţă or George, is a retired Romanian professional basketball player. At 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m), he is the tallest players in NBA history.
Mureșan was born in the countryside of Romania, in Tritenii de Jos, Cluj County, and played competitive basketball at Cluj University.He played professionally in the French league with Pau-Orthez during the 1992–93 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. He played in the NBA from 1993 to 2000 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 ending his NBA career, Mureșan had another stint in the French league before returning to the United States with his family. He normally wore number 77, in reference to his height.
On March 11, 2007, Mureșan played a game for the Maryland Nighthawks as part of the tallest lineup in the history of basketball. This is the only basketball game Mureșan has ever played where he was not the tallest person on the court, as Sun Mingming is 7' 9" (2.36 m).
In 2004, Gheorghe Muresan founded Giant Basketball Academy (GBA), a
program dedicated to teaching the proper fundamentals of basketball to
boys and girls of all ages. Muresan is also part of the Washington
Wizards marketing and public relations team.
Outside basketball, Mureșan has dabbled in acting, playing the title character in 1998 feature film My Giant starring comedian Billy Crystal. Mureșan plays a ventriloquist in rap artist Eminem's breakout video "My Name Is". He has appeared in commercials for Snickers candy bars, and sports television network ESPN. Most recently, Mureșan authored two young adult fitness and health books: The Boy's Fitness Guide and The Girl's Fitness Guide.
Together with his family, Mureșan has been a resident of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
Gheorghe Dumitru Mureșan (n. 14 februarie 1971 în Tritenii de Jos, Cluj) este un fost jucător NBA născut în România. La înălțimea de 2,31 m, deține împreună cu Manute Bol titlul de cel mai înalt jucător din istoria NBA.
Gheorghe Mureșan este cel mai cunoscut sportiv român intrat in vizorul lumii sportive datorită selecției observative. Având o înaltime peste medie la vârsta junioratului a fost imediat reperat de către specialiștii de la Clubul Sportiv al Universității Cluj. De aici, datorită aptitudinilor sale, jucătorul a evoluat și curând a atras atenția selecționerului echipei naționale și mai apoi echipelor din străinatate: Pau-Orthez, Washington Bullets și New Jersey Nets.
A încercat și actoria, fiind un personaj principal în filmul Gigantul Meu din 1998, în care a jucat împreună cu Billy Crystal.
Recordul său pentru naționala României este de 42 de puncte, reușite într-un meci cu Suedia, în noiembrie 1992. În 1993 a pătruns în liga profesionistă nord-americană (NBA), evoluând cinci sezoane pentru Washington Bullets (1993-1998) și două pentru New Jersey Nets (1998-2000). În sezonul 1995-1996 a primit premiul NBA Most Improved Player Award.
Trivia
- Graduated from Cluj University in Romania.
- First child, George, born on April 23, 1998.
- Did not get his height from his parents. His father is 5'9" and his mother 5'7". A pituitary gland condition caused his unusual growth.
- Selected by the Washington Bullets in the second round (30th pick overall) of the 1993 NBA Draft.
Signed by the New Jersey Nets on May 3, 1999.
- Gheorghe has a Great Dane named "Lucky".
- Weighs 303 lbs (137.4 kg).
- Nickname is "Ghitza" which is pronounced GEET-za and translates to "Little Gheorghe" in English.
- Has played basketball since the age of 14 when he went to the dentist (who was also a basketball referee) and was recruited to play.
- At 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m), the tallest man ever to play in the NBA, standing a few millimeters taller than Sudanese player Manute Bol.
