Ranking The Shortest Basketball Players in the NBA Ever
Everyone who ever played basketball dreamed about playing in the NBA one day. The most passionate ones probably had a dream in which the coach of their favorite team asked for help. All young basketball lovers want to be in the NBA one day.
The only problem with this dream is the height of most kids. The average height of NBA players is around 6`6, which is around 8 inches more than the average US population. Not many will be eligible to play in the NBA because their height significantly determines who will make it in the draft.
However, some players were too short for NBA standards but made it into the league. They are the hope for all kids who are not as tall as they would love to be – if some relatively shorter basketball players made it to the NBA, everyone could do it.
Height isn’t crucial for the NBA
It doesn’t matter how tall you are to be part of the league. The height range is enormous, with more than two feet in range between the tallest and the shortest players in history. Even today, the tallest player in the league is Zach Edey (7 feet and 4 inches), but the shortest is almost two feet less than him. So, who are the shortest players in the NBA right now?
Who is currently the shortest NBA player?
Around 99% of all players in the league are taller than 6 feet. You can say that chances to play in the NBA if you’re shorter than 6 feet are slim, but it is not impossible. Currently, out of 450 professional basketball players, only six are shorter than this limit.
Although none of them plays a significant role for their team, they are still vital for the rotation. Who they are, you ask? Marquis Nowell, who plays for the Raptors, is 5 ft 8 in. Jacob Gilyard from the Grizzlies is 5`9, and his teammate Kennedy Chandler is 5`11. The Nets have Keifer Sykes, who is also 5`11, as well as two Mavericks players – McKinley Wright IV and Jordan Walker.
Although these guys are relatively short for the NBA, some that played before them are even shorter than these numbers. Let’s see – who is the shortest basketball player ever?
Who is the shortest basketball player in the NBA?
Talking about history, the list has around 50 players under 6 feet. This gives a fair chance for everyone dreaming of becoming part of the league one day. However, the percentage is still pretty low compared to everyone who ever played. All of these players were “guards”, but no forward or center can be short.
Centers are almost always around 7 feet, while the best NBA power forwards of all time are at least 6 ft 8 in. It means that if you’re ever about to play in the NBA, and you’re not as tall as these guys, you can only play the position of the guard.
Who are the shortest five NBA players in history, then? Here they are:
5. Greg Grant – 5 ft 7 in
Grant played in the `90s for various NBA teams – the Suns, the Nicks, the Hornets, the `76rs, the Bullets, and the Nuggets. He spent a total of six years in the league.
4. Mel Hirsch – 5 ft 6 in
Mel played only 13 games for the Celtics in 1946-1947 and scored a total of points, but this is enough for him to go in history as one of the shortest players to ever appear in the league.
3. Spudd Webb – 5 ft 6 in
Spudd Webb was part of the league in the late `80s and `90s, and he was playing with quite a success. Unlike some other players on this list, Webb had a significant role in his teams. He played for the Hawks, the Kings, the Timberwolves, and the Orlando Magic.
2. Earl Boykins – 5 ft 5 in
Boykins played 14 great seasons in the NBA with an average of almost 9 points per game and 3.2 assists. He played a total of 652 games for the Nets, the Cavaliers, the Magic, the Clippers, the Warriors, the Nuggets, the Bucks, the Bobcats, the Wizards, and the Rockets. As you can see, Boykins managed to adapt wherever he went, and size had nothing to do with it.
1. Muggsy Bogues – 5 ft 3 in
Probably the most famous and the most interesting player on this list is also the shortest of them all. Muggsy Bogues is an NBA icon. In the `90s, he spent most of his career with the Charlotte Hornets, but he also played for the Bullets, the Warriors, and the Raptors. Muggsy appeared in the epic movie “Space Jam” alongside legends like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Shaquille O`Neal, Vlade Divac, and others.