GHEORGHE MURESAN, PRESIDENT
At 7-7, Gheorghe Muresan developed into a legitimate NBA center and a force in the league before injuries slowed his career. He earned the NBA`s Most Improved Player Award in 1995-96, his third year in the league, and followed by leading the league in field goal percentage in 1996-97. Muresan and Manute Bol are the tallest men ever to play in the NBA.
A native of Romania, Muresan sprouted to his current size because of a pituitary gland condition. His father stood 5-9 and his mother was 5-7. In Muresan`s first season playing professionally in Europe, he averaged 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. Prior to that he had played for the Romanian national team, where his highlights included scoring 42 points in a win over Sweden in 1992 and averaging 23.4 points and 11.4 rebounds during the 1991 Junior World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
The Washington Bullets took a chance on Muresan, selecting him in the second round (30th pick overall) of the 1993 NBA Draft. He averaged 5.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.89 blocks per contest in limited game time in 1993-94. Midway through the 1994-95 season Muresan became the Bullets` starting center. He recorded some big performances during the year, including game highs of 30 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks, and he finished with averages of 10.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.74 blocks per game. He really blossomed in 1995-96, when he was named the league`s Most Improved Player after posting career-highs of 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.26 blocked shots and 29.5 minutes per game and leading the league in field goal percentage at .584. It represented a remarkable achievement for a player who only three years earlier was regarded as a dubious project by many scouts. Muresan led the NBA in field goal percentage with a .604 mark in 1996-97 while averaging 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.32 blocks per game. Muresan played the finals two years of his NBA career with the New Jersey Nets.
Remarkably, Gheorghe`s talents extend beyond the basketball court. In 1998, he co-starred with Billy Crystal in the movie "My Giant".
In 2001 he was appointed manager of the Romanian national team.
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. Mr. Muresan is also part of the Washington Wizards marketing and public relations team.
Mr. Muresan is active in several charities working with underprivileged children.
EDUCATION:
B.A. - Physical education, University of Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
AWARDS & RECOGNITION:
NBA`s Most Improved Player Award, 1995-96
NBA’s highest field goal percentage, 1996-97
French Championship with Pau Ortez, 2001
French Cup with Pau Ortez, 2003
Romanian National Team Captain, 1998-2002
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
NBA rookie mentoring program, 2004
Basketball-Without-Borders-Europe, a joint effort by the NBA and the International Basketball Federation in order to improve the skills of young European basketball players
Founder and President of Giant Basketball Academy (GBA), Washington, DC, 2004
Founder of Basketball Academy for Kids, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 1993
Contact Info: gba_info@giantbasketball.com
