Shortest Basketball Players Of All Time

It is quite obvious that most sports require extraordinary strength and stamina. However, there’s quite a bit of diversity when it comes to body type. For example, we usually see skinny athletes who compete in marathon. In comparison, players in sports like rugby, weightlifting, wrestling are usually heavyset.

Similarly, some sports require players to be taller than the usual guy on the street. A perfect example is basketball, where average height of NBA players was found to be 6 ft. 7 in (2.01 m) with shoes on. Just for comparison, the average height of American male is 5 ft. 9.3 in (1.76 m). So, what happens if a shorter guy has aspirations to become a professional NBA player? Will their dreams be dashed just because of their height?

Well, even though the odds may be stacked up against them, shorter guys can still make it to NBA. For motivation, one can look up to Calvin Jerome Murphy who was just 5 ft. 9 in. tall. Yet, he has a good record and has been included in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Given below are some more examples of shortest NBA players of all time.

Greg Grant – Measuring 5 ft. 7 in. (1.70 m) in height, Greg Grant got entry to NBA in 1989. In his career, Grant was in NBA for around nine years and played for multiple teams. His career stats include 274 games and 767 points scored. After his retirement, he started his own sports academy. Grant has also served as the head coach at Trenton Central High School.

Spud Webb – At 5 ft. 6 in. (1.68 m) tall, Spud Webb started his NBA journey in 1985. At school, Webb was told that basketball was not his domain as he was too short. However, that did not dissuade Webb from pursuing his dreams. He compensated for his height by a higher than normal jump. He even won a Slam Dunk Contest in 1986. In his thirteen year NBA career, Webb played 814 games and scored 8,072 points.

Mel Hirsch – At 5 ft. 6 in. tall, Mel Hirsch played 13 games from 1946–47. He scored a total of 19 points. Prior to his NBA career, Hirsch had also excelled at basketball during his college days. Prior to NBA, he had been part of the US Army Air Corps. He was a member in his squadron’s officer’s basketball team.

Earl Boykins – At 5 ft. 5 in., Earl Boykins is the second shortest player in the history of NBA. Boykins started his NBA career in 1998 and played till 2012. He had excelled in basketball in his school as well as college. Boykins played a total of 652 games and scored 5,791 points.

Muggsy Bogues – At 5 ft. 3 in. (1.60 m), Muggsy Bogues is the shortest NBA player of all time. His professional journey in NBA started in 1987 and continued till 2001. He primarily played as a Point guard. In his early days, he was often teased as ‘Muggsy’ for being a short guy playing basketball. Bogues NBA career stats include 889 games and 6,858 points.