It’s very important to be tall in basketball because it’s one of the ways to become a successful player: it’s convenient to hit the ring or to protect a ball when you are about 2 meters tall. However, some guys became popular basketball players despite this rule.
In this article, we are going to tell you about popular basketball players, who weren’t that tall.
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Tyrone Curtis «Muggsy» Bogues — 160 cm
Muggsy is the smallest basketball player in the NBA history, although he was one of the best players in his generation.
His family was poor and dysfunctional. When he was ten his father was arrested. After that, Muggsy started playing basketball because he wanted to have a chance for a good life.
He got to the national team and took part in the 1986 FIBA World Championship. He won a gold medal as the lowest player. Muggsy was drafted by the NBA team at the age of 22. He played for the Washington Bullets with Manute Bol — the tallest basketball player in the history of the NBA.
Within 14 years of his career, Muggsy became one of the greatest players with 6726 assists. In this way, he surpassed such NBA stars as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Larry Bird.
Muggsy played in 889 games, scored 6858 points, and made 39 blocked shots.
After his retirement as a player, Muggsy wrote the autobiography “In the Land of Giants: My Life in Basketball”. He also became a coach of a female basketball team — the Charlotte Sting.
Earl Boykins — 165 cm
Earls was very good at basketball when he was in college, but he couldn’t enter the NBA draft. So, he had to choose another way.
He had signed seven short-term contracts with NBA teams from 1998 to 2003 which helped him to play in the league without any drafts. After the successful game, he signed a five-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.
After one year, Earl went down in history as the lowest player who could score 32 points.
Mel Hirsch — 168 cm
Hirsch held the title of the lowest basketball player for 40 years.
We don’t know much about him — he didn’t play much basketball on the professional level. Hirsch played for the squadron’s officer’s basketball team while he served in the US Army Air Corps. After that, he joined the Boston Celtics and played 13 games for this team.
Greg Grant — 170 cm
Greg was from a poor family, so he tried to help his parents by selling fish on the local market. He spent his free time on the playground near his house playing basketball. That’s where some scouts saw him. They invited him to the college, and afterward, he entered the NBA draft.
Greg had played for 19 teams throughout his career: one year-one team. And when he retired, he became a basketball coach.
Keith Russell “Mister” Jennings — 170 cm
Keith started his career in college like many other basketball players. He entered the NBA draft in 1991 but nobody chose him. That’s why he had to go to Europe. Keith played for the BBV Hagen in Germany. After one season he came back to the USA and was invited to the Golden State Warriors.
He quit the NBA team and went back to Europe where he had played for French and Spanish teams. He even played for the Russian basketball team — St. Petersburg Lions Club which was dissolved after a year because of bad results.
