| Paul Sturgess | |
| Position: | Center |
| Height Ft: | 7 |
| Height In: | 7.26 |
| Weight Lbs: | 325 |
| Birth Date: | 1987 11, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Loughborough, England |
| High School: | Burleigh Community College |
| College: | |
| Draft Year: | 2011 |
| Career Start: | 2011 |
| Career End: | 2015 |
| Years1: | 2011–2013 |
| Team1: | Harlem Globetrotters |
| Years2: | 2013–2014 |
| Team2: | Texas Legends |
| Years3: | 2014–2015 |
| Team3: | Cheshire Phoenix |
Paul Sturgess (born 25 November 1987) is an English former professional basketball player. At a height of 7feet, he was measured as the tallest living person from the United Kingdom by Guinness World Records in November 2011. He was also the tallest college basketball player in the United States.[1]
Sturgess was "drafted" by the Harlem Globetrotters in August 2011[2] and is the tallest ever to play for the team, earning him the nickname "Tiny".[3] [4] He joined the team with fellow rookie Jonte "Too Tall" Hall, who, at 5feet was 2.5feet shorter than Sturgess and was the shortest Globetrotters player ever at that time.[5]
Sturgess wears a size 19 shoe.[6] [7] He was the second-tallest man in the UK until the death of actor and fellow basketball player Neil Fingleton, who was 7feet tall, in 2017. Examinations as a teenager revealed that his growth is healthy rather than the result of a medical condition, and that his height is genetic. His biological father is 6feet and there are other tall members in his family, although his mother is 5feet and his younger sister is 5feet. He featured prominently in the 2007 ITV1 documentary Supersize Kids: Britain's Tallest Teens when he was 19 and playing at the Florida Institute of Technology.
Sturgess enjoys playing many other sports and, before concentrating on basketball, played golf and football.[8] He was 5feet aged 14 when he started playing team basketball, 7feet aged 16 playing at Burleigh Community College, and 7feet when he graduated from high school at age 18. A growth spurt during the ages of 16 and 17 resulted in a 1feet of height added within a single year. Sturgess can hold the 10feet high rim whilst standing. He declined offers to play professional basketball in Europe, preferring to pursue basketball in the US.
On 1 November 2013, Sturgess was selected by the Springfield Armor in the third round of the 2013 NBA Development League Draft.[9] On 4 November 2013, he was traded to the Texas Legends where he played for the rest of the season.[10] On 19 November 2014, he was signed by the Cheshire Phoenix of the British Basketball League.[11] He later transferred back to the Harlem Globetrotters, this time being part of the arranged opposition.[12] In the re-formed Washington Generals, he adopted a mask as the villainous alter ego "Cager".[13]
Following the end of his basketball career in 2015, Sturgess became a motivational speaker, mostly for children of primary school age.[14]