In basketball scoreboards news, we look at somewhat esoteric subject. Who were the shortest players ever to have played in the NBA?
Basketball is one of the few sports which practically demands a distinct physique. As we all know, that demand is height. Most of the players in the NBA of today and the past are and were over 6 feet tall, and many 6 foot 6 and above. Clearly height is an obvious advantage in basketball, unlike in sports such as soccer or baseball, in which physical attributes are much less important. In one way this is a inherent disadvantage of the game of basketball: whilst the best soccer player in the world today, Messi, is only 5 foot 7, in basketball the vast majority of players of such a a height will get nowhere. In another way, this is not strictly true, as there have been some notable exceptions in the game of basketball over the years. Below we look the shortest players in basketball history who made it big.
Continue reading “Shortest Players in NBA History – Updated Article.”
Ever since the inception of basketball as a sport in the later 19th century, height has been the one dominant trait that gives a clear advantage in playing. Since the basketball rim stands 10 feet above the ground, obviously the closer a player is, the easier it is to score and block baskets. The basketball player and later profuse television commentator Bill Walton is fond of quoting “You can’t teach height,” which succinctly points out the obvious advantage that height gives a player above all other skills. In basketball short players are a rare find and in the professional league, they are even rarer. The shortest basketball player to ever play in the NBA is Mugsy Bogues.