Published 11:25 IST, November 12th 2019
NBA: Who are the shortest basketball players in the NBA history?
Basketball has been known to be a game for the taller players. However, here are five players who made it in the NBA despite their height disadvantage.
- SportFit
- 4 min read
A vertically gifted child in the USA already has a career option on his hands. A career in one of the most popular leagues in the world - the NBA. It's widely accepted that basketball is a sport for tall people, what with the basket being located at such a height from the floor of the court. Therefore, with a player height average that currently stands somewhere around 6'7" (2.01 m) in the NBA, it's safe to say, therefore, that the NBA is a size driven league.
However, from time to time, there have been those who are lesser gifted in a vertical sense but have still managed to set the NBA alight. With a lesser height, the shorter players in the NBA may be at a significant disadvantage. However, a low centre of gravity coupled with generally increased acceleration and speed means that the shorter players in the NBA do have substitute abilities to make up for the deficit. Here's a look at five of the shortest players in NBA history.
5. Greg Grant – 5’7”
Nine NBA seasons in six separate teams - Greg Grant has had an eventful career in the NBA despite standing at just 5'7". His three seasons with Philadelphia 76ers was his longest tenure in the NBA. Grant then went on to call time on his playing career with the Washington Bullets.
4. Anthony Webb - 5'7"
Anthony Webb is one of the more well-known short players in the NBA. The point guard played an astonishing 814 games in the NBA, so it's safe to say he's had a successful career in the NBA. Webb is most famously remembered for winning the 1986 NBA slam-dunk contest in spectacular fashion, also becoming the shortest player ever to do so.
3. Melvin Hirsch – 5’6”
At 5'6", Melvin Hirsch is the third-shortest player in NBA history. Not much is known about Melvin Hirsch. However, Hirsch did go on to play13 games for the Boston Celtics in 1948. He also compiled 19 points and 10 assists during his short stint in the NBA. not bad for one of the shortest point guards in NBA history.
2. Earl Boykins 5'5"
Speed, ball handling, shooting, passing skills, Earl Boykins had it all. Boykins played a total of 14 seasons in the NBA with 12 different teams. Boykins would go on to win the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 1997 while playing for Eastern Michigan University. He was also First Team All-MAC in 1997 and 1998, MAC Tournament MVP in 1988 and also won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner in 1988.
1. Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues - 5'3"
Behold, the shortest player in the history of the NBA, Tyrone "Muggsy" Brogues. If you're wondering how he was bestowed with the nickname, "Muggsy", it was because the diminutive Baltimore-born point guard was so good at defence, that his teammates claimed that he was 'mugging' them. Among all the players on this list, Tyrone Muggsy Bogues would go on to have the longest tenure with a single team, spending 10 seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. Muggsy Bogues featured for the U.S. Men’s National Basketball team during the 1996 FIBA Basketball World Championships and also won the gold medal with them.
Updated 15:16 IST, November 12th 2019