Basketball is said to be a game for tall people. The average height to play in the NBA is roughly 6’7” and the two tallest players are Romania’s Gheorghe Muresan and Sudan’s Manute Bol, who both measure a staggering 7’7”. Now let’s see a few of the shortest basketball players who made history.
6 Shortest NBA Player of All Time
1. Keith “Mister” Jennings
“I always felt that I played bigger than I was. I actually felt it was easier for me to play against bigger guys, because I played inside and did not mind trying to battle for a rebound,” said Jennings in an interview with Collegehoopsnet.com. He is one of the greatest and shortest NBA players ever. Currently, he is the assistant coach at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia.
2. Avery “Little General” Johnson
Johnson is a 5’10” NBA player. He is one of the fantastic players, nicknamed “Little General”. He is the current coach of the New Jersey Nets and Coach of the Year winner in 2006.
What Is the Average Height of an NBA Player?
- A. 6-foot-6
- B. 5-foot-3
- C. 7-foot-7
- D. 6-foot
3. Wataru “Wat” Misaka
Wataru was the shortest white basketball player. He had met many discrimination and prejudice problems relating to his Japanese ancestry and regarding his height. Misaka said that the experience was like being in “a personal no-man’s land. No matter where I looked, I was a traitor in someone’s eyes.” After graduation, he played briefly as a point guard for the New York Knicks between 1947 and 1948, becoming the first Asian-American player to participate in the NBA.
4.Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues
Most players at the height of 5’3” will struggle to play basketball but Tyrone Muggsy Bogues ‘the shortest white NBA player’ did not let this stop him. He was good at defense and the fans started saying that he was “mugging” them. “What drives him is when people say he can’t do something because he’s too short. He thinks to himself, ‘Oh yeah?’ He’s been that way all his life,” explains his wife, Kim.
5. Greg Grant
5’7” Greg Grant as many other short players made his way up with his pure skills. Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers Jim Lynam said He’s a spark plug, a guy who can come off the bench and get the crowd involved and change the flow of it.”
6. Earl Boykins
Young Boykins learned to play basketball at an early stage. Earl Boykins was a shoot-first dynamo at his position. Boykins is only 5’5” and weighs in at 133 pounds, yet according to his NBA bio, he can bench press 315 pounds. It is nearly two and a half times his own weight. He is one of the greatest and shortest NBA players ever.
Also, Read the highest-paid basketball players in the year 2020 to find some interesting facts and play fun trivia quizzes.