Sun Ming Ming is quite awesome if one notices that he is over 236 cms tall and weighs 152 kilograms. Add to this the fact that Sun is only 21 years old and can dunk a basketball without even jumping. He, however, has a hard time flying, because most of the airplane seats are too small for him.

This young person looks a real giant whilst walking around in his size 54 shoes. Sun has got a big frame for his size (he wears size 6XL shirts) and technically he can shoot the basketball easily from within the zone and its perimeter and also has an unselfish court nature as he frequently looks to pass first. He practically holds the ball in his hands just like a normal person would hold a tennis ball.

Sun was discovered two years ago in Harbin, China, an industrial city and capital of the Heilongjiang province, by coach Weiping when the latter was in charge of building China’s Olympic basketball team for the 2008 Olympics. Sun is the son of two shopkeepers from a small town in China’s northernmost province, where the winters are nothing short of Siberian.

Sun admires a lot his fellow countryman and present NBA superstar Yao Ming but in reality Sun has got a long road ahead of him before he may have the opportunity to break into the NBA. Right now, the dream of facing Houston Rockets’ centre player Yao Ming, who is three inches shorter and 15 kilos lighter but much stronger physically, on an NBA court one day is furthest from his mind.

In fact Sun practically just wants to live at present. He hopes to live what will be a long, healthy and prosperous life. The problem is that he needs surgery to remove a benign tumor that is pressed against his pituitary gland. This gland produces the body’s growth hormone. Unfortunately the tumor is also draining Sun’s strength because it is preventing the production of testosterone.

According to reports, Sun has a condition named acromegaly or “gigantism”. This is a hormonal disorder that results when the pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone (GH). It causes increased growth of the long bones and increased height.

The tumor, along with suppressing testosterone, also compresses surrounding brain tissue, such as the optic nerves. This causes regular and deep headaches and also affects vision. In fact Sun, who played for China’s second-division national team cannot keep his arms raised very long before fatiguing.

Sun and his agent, Charles Bonsignore (with whom Sun lives in Ventura, California) have been trying hard to raise over $130,000 to pay for the operation and a minimum of 10 years of follow-ups. Bonsignore (who spotted Sun playing with the Chinese junior national team and has worked hard, despite all the Chinese red tape, to take him to America) was told by medical specialists that Sun could die before he is 30 if the tumor is not removed, because of the excess GH being produced. The vital organs will continue to grow but Sun’s heart will have no room to pump.

It is not known how long Sun has had this condition, but it has been deemed as pre-existing and thus is not covered by any insurance.

Sun did not know he had the tumor until the end of last June after medical testing, which was suggested by several NBA teams that had privately worked him out. These teams were very concerned about his lack of strength and stamina.

At first they thought Sun was just anemic (lack of blood pressure) but following intensive tests a brain surgeon warned if Sun does not remove his tumor within just a month it can be quite dangerous as the effects will take on a multiplier effect.

Rumanian Gheorghe Muresan (231 cms) and Russian Pavel Podkolzin (227 cms), both NBA players, had similar operations in the past years.

Back in China, Sun came from a poor family and could not even afford a correctly-sized shoe, which aggravated deformations in his feet and his lack of speed.

Bonsignore also negotiated with the Discovery Channel to document Sun’s life and the surgery and thus help pay a portion of the costs of the same surgery. The surgery consists of the use of fibre optics to go through the nasal passages to remove the tumor behind Sun’s eyes.

If all goes well and Sun recovers as expected, his strength will start finally matching his size. He will start producing the testosterone levels that should keep him from having to leave a game (as he did up to last season) after seven minutes because of acute fatigue and stress.

Despite his condition (he has done the operation and is presently recovering) a number of NBA teams are inquiring and following this player. According to reports Utah, Washington, Indiana, Toronto, Milwaukee and Charlotte have all scouted him. Sun also was invited by the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this year and players commented that they could, at times, not even see the basket when Sun raised his hands.

If everything goes well, Sun stands a good chance of entering the NBA because of his large size. He will made history as the tallest player in the NBA if he joins this elite league. Manute Bol (234 cms) was the tallest player up to now.

According to his agent, who is following closely Sun’s post-operation progress, Sun’s life could easily drastically change if he finally would be able to build his body muscle. Many think of Sun as a ready NBA player and not merely a prospect.

However Bonsignore, quite logically, does not want Sun to rush things and would like him to start living a normal life and then, if need be, start thinking about basketball.

One other thing to conclude, Sun’s growth plates still have not closed, according to medical reports following the operation and thus he could easily grow taller as well.