Emil Assad Rached (June 20, 1943 Vera Cruz, São Paulo, Brasil - October 15, 2009 Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil) was a Brazilian basketball player of Lebanese origin. In Brazil, he was commonly referred to as O Gigante ("The Giant").
He started his career in Palmeiras in 1964 and played basketball professionally up to 1980 for five more teams: XV de Piracicaba (SP), Corinthians (SP), Botafogo (RJ), Tênis Cube de Campinas (SP) and Rio Claro (SP). Rached participated at the 1967 FIBA World Championship[1] with the Brazil national basketball team. At 2.20 meters (7 ft 3 in), he was the tallest Brazilian player ever. For five years, he was part of the Brazilian national team. He won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Uruguay (1967), a gold medal in the Pan American Games in Cali (1971) and placed second in South America Argentina (1966). He scored 114 points in 18 official matches for Brazil. [2]
After retiring from basketball, he had an acting career, most notably participation in a very popular Brazilian comedy TV show called Os Trapalhões and some movies with the same group.