Height is one of the most important aspects of basketball. With the average NBA player’s height being 6ft6 1/2, it’s highly unlikely to see shorter players succeeding. Against all odds, the NBA’s shortest player had an exciting and successful career.
Who is the shortest NBA player?
Tyrone Curtis “Muggsy” Bogues was born January 9th 1965 in Baltimore to a 4ft 11in mother and 5ft 5in father. Bogues had a troubling childhood with his father being sent to prison when he was 12 years old and even witnessing a man be beaten to death with a baseball bat. Despite such a tragic childhood, Bogues succeeded as a multi-sport athlete, becoming a standout wrestling, baseball and basketball athlete.
After a wildly successful basketball season with Dunbar High School, Bogues received several scholarship offers to play college basketball.
College Career
Bogues played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for four years averaging
14.8 points, 9.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in his senior year.
Wake Forest retired his number within a few years of his leaving the program. In 2001, he was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame. To this day, he remains Wake Forest’s all-time leader in both steals and assists.
Bogues played for the USA national team in the FIBA World Championship in 1986 winning gold while playing all 10 games leading his team in assists and steals.
NBA Career
Bogues was selected 12th overall in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets where he’d spend the first year of his NBA career. Bogues was teammates with Manute Bol one of the tallest players of all time standing 7ft 7in with 28 inches between them. As a rookie Bogues only started 14 games but still led the Bullets in both steals and assists.
Despite being significantly shorter than the average NBA player, Bogues blocked 39 shots in his career including one from 7-foot-tall NBA Legend Patrick Ewing. He played for three other teams the Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors averaging 7.7 points, 1.6 steals, 7.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game throughout his entire career.
NBA Achievements
Bogues holds several of the Hornets’ records including career steals and assists. Bogues finished in the top seven of assists in six consecutive seasons (1989-95) and in the top ten in steals in three of those. He had 146 career double-doubles. He was a consecutive NBA Hall of Fame nominee.
Conclusion
Bogues career, although lacking championships and all-star appearances stands out as one of the most impressive, with his unmatched ball handling and playmaking abilities but most importantly his size has inspired a generation of shorter athletes, providing them with not only a role model but with a chance to dream. Mugsy Bogues shows us that no matter how much the odds are stacked against you, you can still succeed.
