NBA

Who are the 10 shortest players in NBA history?

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Muggsy Bogues and Spud Webb

The average height of an NBA player is generally around 6-foot-6. However, the range of player's height in NBA history is over two feet (24 inches), with the tallest player standing at 7-foot-7 and the shortest player standing in at 5-foot-3.

In NBA history, there have been 25 players with a height of 5-foot-9 or shorter. 

That shortest player in NBA history is Muggsy Bogues, who's 14-year career is tied for the most played in the league by a player 5-foot-9 shorter. After being drafted 12th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets, he represented four franchises over the course of his 889 regular-season games, a majority of which have come with the Charlotte Hornets. 

After Bogues, it's Earl Boykins. The 5-foot-5 point guard also played in the NBA for 14 seasons, representing 10 franchises in that span.

Take a look at the other players in NBA history who have registered a height under 5-foot-8.

List of all players 5-foot-8 or shorter in NBA history
  Player Height NBA Playing career
1. Muggsy Bogues 5-foot-3 1987-2001
2. Early Boykins 5-foot-5 1998-2012
3. Spud Webb 5-foot-6 1985-98
  Mel Hirsch 5-foot-6 1946-47
5. Greg Grant 5-foot-7 1989-96
  Keith Jennings 5-foot-7 1992-95
  Red Klotz 5-foot-7 1947-48
  Wataru Misaka 5-foot-7 1947-48
  Monte Towe 5-foot-7 1976-77
10. Dino Martin 5-foot-8 1946-48
  Willie Somerset 5-foot-8 1965-66
  Charlie Criss 5-foot-8 1977-86

Notes

  • Spud Webb, tied for the third-shortest player in NBA history, is the shortest player ever to win the NBA's Slam Dunk contest in 1987. 
  • Louis Herman "Red" Klotz, a member of the championship-winning Baltimore Bullets, is the shortest player ever to win an NBA title. 
  • Monte Towe, who played one season each in the ABA and the NBA, is the shortest ever player to have played in the ABA. 
  • Wataru Misaka, a member of the New York Knicks in 1947-48, was the first Asian player in the league. 

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