Sun Ming Ming, the world's tallest basketball player.  The
stadium scene. Feb. 28 2007 3:27 PM  Eight Feet High and Rising
Is Sun Ming Ming too tall to play basketball?  Sun Ming Ming.
Click image to expand. Sun Ming Ming waits for a rebound  When
you go to see the world's tallest basketball player, you're
paying to watch a guy stand up. Tonight, Sun Ming Ming is
sitting down. It's the third quarter, and the 7-foot-9 center is
riding the bench with six fouls. One enterprising fan tries to
make the best of it. He creeps up behind Sun then puts an arm
around the giant's sweaty shoulder. Sun grimaces and pushes him
off—no posing for photos during the game. A few steps away, in
the gym's back corner, kids gawk at a life-size cardboard
effigy. The cutout shows Sun in profile, his eyes cast upward.
It looks like he's searching the horizon for a nine-footer, a
Goliath to lure away the camera phones.  Josh Levin Josh Levin
Sun Ming Ming plays for the ABA's Maryland Nighthawks, a minor-
league team based in the D.C.