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How tall is the shortest basketball player


Top 10 shortest players in NBA history

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Arvydas Sabonis of the Portland Trailblazers defends Earl Boykins of the Golden State Warriors. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Icon SMI)

Andrew Champagne

April 7th, 2021

The NBA is seen as a big man’s game, but over the years many pint-sized players have found ways to make an impact. Who could forget the time 5'6" point guard Spud Webb won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, or the time 5'5" spark plug Early Boykins exploded for 32 points against the Detroit Pistons?

Here are the 10 shortest players in NBA history. They may have been short on height, but they were long on talent.

10. Charlie Criss

Height: 5'8"
Teams: Atlanta Hawks, San Diego Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks
Years Active: 1978-1985

Criss shined for two seasons in the old Eastern Basketball Association before signing with the Hawks and earning the distinction as the NBA’s shortest active player. The 5’8” guard then spent eight seasons in the league, and averaged greater than 10 points per game in two of them.

Please allow @DWilkins21 to set the record straight regarding Charlie Criss' height... 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Cz11ZkSUNT

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) December 16, 2017

9. Monte Towe

Height: 5'7"
Team: Denver Nuggets
Years Active: 1976-1977

Towe won a national championship at NC State and was a third round draft pick the following year with the Nuggets, who were then an ABA franchise (they joined the NBA the following year). Towe then spent more than 30 years as a coach within the college and professional ranks.

8. Wat Misaka

Height: 5'7"
Team: New York Knicks
Years Active: 1948

Misaka was the first player of Asian descent to suit up for an NBA team. His journey to New York came after he helped lead the Utah Utes to an NCAA championship in 1944. However, he played just three games for the Knicks and was cut due to a logjam of guards on the team’s roster.

Wat Misaka broke basketball’s color barrier — but few know his name #AAPIMonth pic.twitter.com/e5EYUXKwFt

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 11, 2018

7. Red Klotz

Height: 5'7"
Team: Baltimore Bullets
Years Active: 1947-1948

Klotz has two unique distinctions. He’s the shortest player ever to play for a team that won a championship, as his Bullets team won the 1948 Basketball Association of America title. The 5’7” Klotz was also the founder of the Washington Generals, who made a living playing (and losing to) the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters.

6. Keith Jennings

Height: 5'7"
Team: Golden State Warriors
Years Active: 1993-1995

The 5’7” Jennings won the 1991 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding senior player under six feet in height. He averaged 18 minutes per game in several seasons with the Warriors, and after his NBA career came to a close, spent close to a decade playing overseas.

Let’s remember Keith Jennings#Warriors Point Guard (1992-1994)

Career highlights
🏀 1️⃣6️⃣4️⃣ games
🏀 6️⃣.6️⃣ PPG
🏀 1️⃣.5️⃣ RPG
🏀 3️⃣.7️⃣ APG
🏀 Played 9️⃣ seasons overseas from 1995-2003#DubNation #NBA #goldenstate pic.twitter.com/Jc4yBAX9v2

— letsremember_someguys (@remember_guys) January 17, 2020

5. Greg Grant

Height: 5'7"
Teams: Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Denver Nuggets
Years Active: 1990-1996

This is a really cool story. Grant starred for Division III Trenton State College (now known as The College of New Jersey) after being discovered while playing at a New Jersey playground. He was drafted by the Suns in 1989, and spent nine years in the league. Grant’s post-career activities included a five-year stint as a high school coach in Trenton, where his teams went 100-32.

4. Spud Webb

Height: 5'6"
Teams: Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic
Years Active: 1986-1998

Known far and wide as the shortest player ever to participate in an NBA Slam Dunk Content, Webb won that event in 1986. However, his game was sharp enough that he enjoyed a long career in the league. Webb actually led the NBA in free throw shooting percentage during the 1994-95 season, when he shot greater than 93% from the charity stripe.

Never forget when Spud Webb stole the show to win the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest! 💥#TeamDay | @ATLHawks pic.twitter.com/Sf8HI1DLrG

— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 30, 2019

3. Mel Hirsch

Height: 5'6"
Team: Boston Celtics
Years Active: 1946-1947

Hirsch long held the distinction as the shortest player in NBA history after the 5’6” guard suited up for 13 games during the 1946-47 season. This was far before Boston’s glory days, as the Celtics finished 22-38 and tied for last in their six-team conference.

2. Earl Boykins

Height: 5'5"
Teams: New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, L.A. Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets
Years Active: 1999-2012

It took Boykins some time to stick in the league, but he grew into a very productive player during the 2000’s. He averaged 14.6 points per game during the 2006-07 campaign in which he competed for both the Nuggets and Bucks. Even in 2009-10 and 2010-11, where he was 33 and 34 years old, he averaged greater than 15 minutes per game.

Earl Boykins: heart over height 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/wwUBV3iESf

— SLAM Rewind (@SLAMRewind) November 5, 2019

1. Muggsy Bogues

Height: 5'3"
Teams: Washington Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors
Years Active: 1988-2001

Short on size but not on talent, the 5’3” Bogues is the shortest player to ever compete in the NBA. He enjoyed a 14-season professional career after his number was retired at Wake Forest, and he averaged greater than 10 assists per game twice.

Heart Over Height.

S/o to 5'3" Muggsy Bogues! ✊️ pic.twitter.com/WdE8kjyGmD

— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) November 21, 2019

Perhaps just as noteworthy, he was one of the NBA stars who acted in the film Space Jam, where aliens sapped Bogues and his fellow players of their skills.

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NBA

10 shortest NBA players ever

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Basketball players come in all shapes and sizes. This is proven by players such as ‘The Round Mound‘ and the ‘Stifle Tower‘. Today, we’re focusing on the shortest NBA players ever.

How many players are in the NBA? With each of the 30 rosters allowed to hold a maximum of 15 players during the season, there are at least 450 players signed to NBA contracts.

Counting down the shortest basketball players, we go from 10-1, with the shortest person in the NBA coming at the end. You’ll also find the shortest current NBA player.

10. Charlie Criss

There are several players who officially measured in at around 5-foot-8, as Charlie Criss was listed at, but some suggest he was even smaller than his listed height, which isn’t all that uncommon.

9. Keith Jennings

Standing at 5-foot-7, Keith Jennings entered the NBA as an undrafted free agent with the Golden State Warriors. He managed to play in 164 games in his pro career, before heading overseas for several more.

Related: NBA games today

8. Greg Grant

Like many other NBA players, Greg Grant had to overcome long odds just to be signed by an NBA team. Perhaps they overlooked his 5-foot-7 frame, but Grant lasted nine years in the league.

7. Monte Towe

You know what they say. Those who can’t do, teach. There’s no one saying Monte Towe wasn’t talented (he even made an All-Star team), but it’s clear, his 30 years as a basketball coach dwarf his two seasons playing basketball.

6. Wat Misaka

Another relatively unknown player, Wat Misaka will always have his name etched in the record books, but it’s not due to being 5-foot-7. Instead, Misaka has the unique distinction of being the first player of Asian descent to reach the NBA.

5. Red Klotz

If you’ve never heard of Red Klotz, you’re likely not alone. The 5-foot-7 guard only played 11 games in the NBA with the Baltimore Bullets, but they did manage to win an NBA title, which makes Klotz the shortest NBA player to win a ring.

Related: Top-selling NBA jerseys

4. Spud Webb is the most well-known short basketball player

Commonly mistaken for the shortest NBA player in basketball history, many people are curious to know the true Spud Webb height.

Since so many forget, you may wonder, just how tall is Spud Webb? He stood at 5-foot-6 during the height of his basketball career.

Webb will forever be infamous for being able to dunk the ball despite being vertically challenged. Although, his athleticism has never been questioned. He proved that by winning the 1986 Dunk Contest.

3. Mel Hirsch held shortest basketball player title for 42 years

We know who the shortest NBA players of today are, but there was a time when Mel Hirsch of the Boston Celtics, at 5-foot-6 was the smallest NBA player. From 1946-47, Hirsch played 13 games in his short career.

2. Earl Boykins comes up just shy of shortest NBA player

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

At 5-foot-5, Earl Boykins may be small, but he’s not quite the shortest basketball player in existence. Boykins didn’t let his slight frame prevent him from playing in 652 NBA games in his career.

1. Muggsy Bogues is shortest player in NBA history

Who’s the shortest NBA player? Measuring in at 5-foot-3 makes Muggsy Bogues the shortest NBA player of all time.

He was a popular player at the height of his career, even making a cameo in the 1996 basketball classic appearing in Space Jam alongside Michael Jordan and several other NBA stars at the time.

Now the next time someone asks who is the shortest NBA player, you might have an informed answer ready to go.

Related: Who are the ten oldest players in the NBA?

Bonus: Who is the shortest current NBA player?

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The shortest current NBA player is also very well-known by basketball fans today. At 5-foot-9, Isaiah Thomas measures as the shortest basketball player currently in the NBA. He most recently played on the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Charlotte Hornets in the 2021-22 season. Thomas is currently a free agent.

Related: 10 tallest NBA players ever

The shortest and smallest basketball players in the world: top 10 - Go-Sport

Top 10 shortest basketball players in the world

June 20, 2019

The average height of basketball players is 185-190 centimeters. At the same time, in the history of world basketball there were many talented players with growth below 175 centimeters. We have compiled the top 10 shortest basketball players in the world.

10. Willie Somerset (173 cm)

Willie Somerset, photo: nasljerseys.com

Willie Somerset was the shortest professional basketball player in the 60s of the last century who managed to play in the NBA. However, Somerset spent only one season in the world's major basketball league.65/66, speaking for the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards), and even then went to the floor in only eight meetings, having managed to score 45 points. At the same time, Somerset became the lowest basketball player who played in all three major North American basketball leagues: the National Basketball Association (NBA), the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). During his career, Somerset changed eight clubs, in 1971 he won the CBA championship with the Scranton Apollos, in the same year he was recognized as the most valuable player of the season, and in 19In 1969 he participated in the ABA All-Star Game.

Willie Somerset is not the only 173 cm basketball player. Don Martin, who played for the Providence Steamrollers in the late 40s, was the same height. And Charlie Criss became one of the legends of the Atlanta Hawks of the 70s and 90s, having played more than 400 games in the NBA.

9. Justin Lundako (172 cm)

Justin Lundako has the shortest height among basketball players who played in Russian leagues. Justin began his career at the age of 20 in Dynamo Maikop, where even with such a small stature he attracted attention with a productive game and spent an average of about 16 minutes on the court. However, Justin did not become a big star, eventually switching to business. In recent years, Justin Lundako was seen as a member of the KubGTU student basketball team, took part in amateur street basketball competitions.

Justin Lundako is the shortest Russian basketball player, he is a Russian citizen and lives in Krasnodar.

8. Nate Robinson (170-172 cm)

Nate Robinson, photo: theringer.com

Nate Robinson's height is a hot topic of debate. Different sources indicate from 175 to 172 cm. But those who met Nate in everyday life claim that his real height is closer to 170 cm, and extra centimeters are added due to sneakers. From early childhood, Robinson was distinguished by outstanding jumping ability, so already in his school years he easily scored from above, which attracted the attention of basketball scouts. In parallel, Robinson played football and even received a college scholarship thanks to this, but eventually chose basketball and made his NBA debut in 2005 as part of the New York Knicks. He then played for seven more NBA clubs, but in 2016, Nate began to lose competition for a place in the lineup and changed the New Orleans Pelicans to the Israeli Hapoel.

Robinson is playing for the Lebanese Omenetman in 2019 and hopes to return to the NBA.

Nate Robinson is the smallest basketball player among those who managed to win the NBA All-Star Game dunk contest twice and the only one in the world who was able to do this three times in his career (2006, 2009 and 2010).

7. Wat Misaka, Monty Taw, Keith Jennings, Greg Grant (170 cm)

There are four players on the seventh line of our ranking of the shortest basketball players, whose height is officially 170 cm.

Wat Misaka played only three games with the New York Knicks in the 1947-48 season and scored seven points, but never reached the proper level and ended his professional career.

Monty Thau also played too little - only two seasons with the Denver Nuggets in the mid-1970s, after which he switched to coaching. At the same time, his personal track record is somewhat richer than that of Misaki. Monty won the 1974 NCAA Collegiate Championship and was an ABA All-Star in 1976 year.

Monty Tau, photo: newsobserver.com

Keith Jennings played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, but stayed with the Warriors for only three seasons, having managed to play 164 games and score 1090 points. Then Jennings went to travel around Europe, having managed to change three French and two Spanish clubs, looked into Turkey, where he played for Fenerbahce, and even appeared in the unique St. Petersburg Lions project, which lasted only one season. Jennings then switched to coaching.

Greg Grant had the longest career of the four, playing in the NBA from 1989 to 1996. Grant changed 6 clubs, played 274 matches and scored 767 points. Later, Grant played in the Mexican team "Mexico Aztecas" and the Puerto Rican "Capitanes de Arecibo", and also "dusted" in the lower American leagues.

Greg Grant, photo: tcnjsignal.net

6. Herm Klotz (170 cm)

Herm Klotz is the shortest champion in the NBA. Klotz won his title in the ABA, which is considered the forerunner of the major basketball league of our time. It happened in season 1947/48, and this season was the only one in Klotz's career that was held at the highest level. Herm Klotz played for the Baltimore Bullets, but played only 11 games in which he scored 15 points. Before that, Klotz performed well at the level of college basketball, but this was not enough for a successful career in the NBA.

5. Spud Webb (168-170 cm)

Spud Webb (center), photo: si.com

Anthony Jerome Webb (Spud Webb) is a legend among undersized basketball players. Back in high school and college, Webb, whose height, according to various sources, was 168 or 170 cm, was distinguished by incredible speed and good jumping ability, which allowed him to score more than 10 points per game and regularly score from the top. At 19In 1985, Webb was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, but immediately traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where the short defender played until 1991. Then Webb played for the Sacramento Kings, returned to Atlanta, moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and even made a year-long voyage to the Italian Verona.

Spud Webb is the shortest basketball player ever to win a dunk contest. Webb did this as part of the 1986 All-Star Game.

4. Mel Hirsch (168 cm)

Mel Hirsch is the shortest basketball player among those who lasted no more than one season in professional basketball. Hirsch began his basketball career in the army, from 1943 playing for the officer team of his squadron. After being retired, Hirsch tried his hand at professional sports and played the 1946–47 season with the Boston Celtics. However, Hirsch did not play much, in his asset only 13 matches appear, in which the former military man scored 19 points. Both high competition and health problems prevented him from continuing his career. At 19Mel Hirsch died of leukemia in 1968.

3. Earl Boykins (165 cm)

Earl Boykins, photo: wikipedia.org in the 2000s, the dominance of tall guys. At the same time, Boykins was not selected in the draft, but this did not prevent him from entering into short-term and annual contracts with NBA clubs. In 1999, Boykins played five games for the New Jersey Nets, then played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Boykins played for the Denver Nuggets from 2003 to 2007. This is his longest spell at the same club. Earl then went back to changing clubs almost every season, and in 2008/09even played in the Italian Virtus.

Earl Boykins played in 644 games in the NBA, scoring 5752 points, becoming one of the highest scorers under 175 cm. com

Barney Sedran (surname Sedransky) was born in New York in 1891. Sedran is the shortest basketball player of the first half of the 20th century. Sedran began his professional career around 1910 and ended in early 1910s.20s, moving on to coaching. According to some reports, Sedran was the highest paid basketball player of his time, but the exact amount of his salary is unknown.

In 1962, Barney Sedran was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and became the shortest player to be so honored.

1. Mugsy Bogz (160 cm)

Mugsy Bogz, photo: postandcourier.com

Tyrone Curtis "Mugsy" Bogz is officially the shortest basketball player in the world. His height is only 160 cm, but this did not prevent him from being effective on the site. The career of the shorty, nicknamed the "robber" began at 1987, when he was selected by the Washington Bullets in the draft under the 12th number, for which Bogz played only one season. Bogz then moved to the Charlotte Hornets, where he played from 1988 to 1997. At the end of his career, Bogz spent two seasons each with the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. In addition to being the shortest player in the NBA, Mugsy Bogz also holds the title of the shortest world champion, which he won as a student at the 1986 World Cup in Spain. After the end of his career, Bogz went into business, managed to train the Charlotte Sting women's team and wrote an autobiographical book, In the Land of the Giants.

Out of Contest

For current NBA players, the shortest title in the 2018-19 season is held by guard Isaiah Thomas of the Denver Nuggets. Officially, his height is 175 cm, but the real height, according to some experts, may be 1-2 centimeters lower. Thomas is still continuing his career, but has already managed to chalk up several interesting achievements.

Isaiah Thomas is the shortest multiple All-Star, the shortest player to score 50 points in a single game, and the shortest player to record a triple-double.

Isaiah Thomas, photo: sportsspectrum.com

Also noteworthy is Calvin Murphy, who played in the NBA in the 1970s, but due to his "too tall" height of 175 cm, did not make it into our rating. Despite his height, Murphy set a number of unique achievements. He became the shortest player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame to play during the NBA era. Murphy is also the lowest among basketball players whose number has been retired. Calvin is the only basketball player with a height of 175 cm and below managed to play more than 1000 games in the NBA. Murphy became the shortest basketball player to break the 10,000 mark in the NBA.

The shortest basketball players in the world and the history of the NBA - top 10

The shortest basketball player in the history of the NBA is Mugsy Bogues, his height is 160 cm. He was small even compared to the average person, but became one of the best players of his generation . In some respects, Mugsi surpassed Michael Jordan himself.

Jordan is the most famous basketball player in history

Top 10 most famous basketball players

1. Mugsy Bogz - 160 cm

In 1996, Mugsy starred in the movie Space Jam with Michael Jordan. Photo: nba.com

Date of birth: January 9, 1965
Career years: 1987 - 2001
Weight: 64 kg

Mugsi lived in a poor dysfunctional family. At the age of five, he and his friends broke a bar window - the owner fired a shotgun at the crowd and wounded Bogz in the arm and legs. At the age of 10, the father of the future star was imprisoned for an armed robbery of his house. After that, Mugsy decided to play basketball to get a chance at a new life.

Mugsy started playing for the Dunbar Poets high school basketball team. After two undefeated seasons, they became the best team in the US. Already at the university, Bogz continued to improve and got into the national team for the 1986 World Cup, where he won a gold medal as the lowest player on the team.

Mugsy entered the NBA draft in 1987 at the age of 22. He was number 12 and was named to the Washington Bullets. Then Manute Bol, the tallest basketball player in the history of the NBA, played for the Bullets, so their joint photo went viral in magazines.

Bol is the tallest basketball player in the NBA, but not in history

Top 10 tallest basketball players

Mugsi compared to the giant of his time, Manute Bol. Source: pinterest.com

Over the course of 14 years of his career, Mugsy has become one of the best assistants in the NBA - 6726 assists. According to this indicator, he is ahead of many basketball stars, such as Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen and Larry Bird. Also, Bogz, despite his height, was good at interceptions - he has 1369 of them.. For his ability to play in the selection, Mugsy was nicknamed the "robber". In total, he has 889 games, 6858 points and as many as 39 block shots.

After retiring as a player, Mugsy published his autobiography In the Land of the Giants and coached the Charlotte Sting women's basketball team, which was still the lowest. Magzy also has a grandson, Samartin Bogz, who also plays basketball. At the age of 17, his height is 160 centimeters - like his grandfather during his career. Samartin will enter the NBA draft only in 2023.

2. Earl Boykins - 165 cm

Boykins set the Eastern Michigan University record for the number of assists - 624. 61 kg

Boykins played great for high school and university teams - even got into symbolic teams. However, he was never selected in the draft, so Earl went the other way.

From 1998 to 2003, he signed seven short-term contracts with NBA teams, which allowed him to play in the league without a draft. After a successful performance, Boykins signed a five-year contract with the Denver Nuggets in 2003. A year later, against the Detroit Pistons, Earl made history by scoring 32 points and becoming the lowest player to reach 30 points.

Boykins did not finish his five-year contract - a year before graduation, he moved to the Milwaukee Bucks, and then to the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2008, Boykins left for the Italian Virtus for one season, after which he returned to the NBA for another three years. In total, during his career in the league, he scored 5752 points, becoming one of the highest scoring undersized basketball players.

3. Mel Hirsh - 168 cm

Hirsh held the title of the shortest basketball player in NBA history for 40 years. Photo: themodestman.com

Date of birth: July 31, 1921
Career years: 1946 - 1947
Weight: 75 kg

Little is known about Hirsch - he played little professional basketball. While studying at the university in 1943, he served in the Air Force as a navigator in the Pacific direction. There he played for the officers' team. After the end of the war, Mel joined the Boston Celtics in 1946 and played 13 games for them, averaging 1.5 points per game.

4. Greg Grant - 170 cm

Greg played in the NBA for five different teams. Photo: twitter.com/redapples

Date of birth: August 29, 1966
Career years: 1989 – 1998
Weight: 64 kg

Grant grew up in a poor, dysfunctional family at the local fish market. In his free time, he played basketball on the playground near the house. There he was noticed by scouts and invited to Trenton College, from where he entered the NBA draft with the 52nd number.

Greg was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft, where he became the shortest player in team history. There were 19 total in Grant's careerdifferent clubs - he never played for more than a year for one team. After his retirement, Grant became a coach at Trenton College, where he began his career as a professional basketball player.

5. Keith Jennings - 170 cm

In college, Keith averaged 59% of shots. Photo: etsubucs.com

Date of birth: November 2, 1968
Career years: 1991 - 2004
Weight: 73 kg

Jennings, like most basketball players, began playing at university. At this level, he twice became the player of the year in the Southern Conference. Keith was 19th in the NBA draft91, but was not selected by any of the clubs. Because of this, he had to leave for Europe, where he was accepted into the German Brandt Hagen. A season later, Jennings returned to the United States - he was accepted into the Golden State Warriors, where he became the shortest basketball player and played for three years.

In 1995, Jennings retired from the NBA and returned to Europe. He played in Spain, France, Turkey and even Russia. In 2000, Keith got into the newly founded St. Petersburg Lions, which was created to participate in international matches. However, due to poor results (2 wins in 10 matches), the roster was disbanded.

6. Red Klotz - 170 cm

Red Klotz was the shortest basketball player of his time. Photo: itsyourturnblog.com

Date of birth: October 21, 1920
Years of career: 1942 - 1989
Weight: 68 kg

183 cm - the growth of the shortest Russian basketball player in NBA 00029

Klotz started playing basketball at the age of 12. His playing career began with SFAS, a Jewish team from Philadelphia. For her, Red played for five years, after which he moved to the Baltimore Bullets for one season, becoming the shortest basketball player in the history of the team. At 1948, he retired from professional basketball and moved to the Washington Generals, a team that was engaged in staging show matches. Klotz played for the Generals until 1989 - at the time of his departure he was 68 years old.

7. Wataru Misaka - 170 cm

Wataru became the first non-white player in the history of professional American basketball. Photo: themodestman.com

Date of birth: December 21, 1923
Career years: 1947
Weight: 68 kg

Wataru was born in the USA, but was a nisei - the so-called Japanese born outside of Japan. Due to racism, he could not play with white teenagers, so he created his own baseball and basketball league along with the same nisei.

After the outbreak of war and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Misaka was moved to the eviction zone. There he continued his studies and ended up at the University of Utah, where he became a champion twice.

In 1947, Wataru was drafted by the New York Knicks, becoming the first non-white player in the league. After playing only three matches, Misaka was expelled from the club. He himself believes that this was due to an excess of defenders in the squad and does not associate this with racism. After retiring, Wataru dropped out of the Harlem Globetrotters and became an electrical engineer in Utah.

8. Monty Tow - 170 cm

After his retirement, Monty was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Photo: newsobserver.com

Date of birth: September 27, 1953
Career years: 1975 - 1977
Weight: 68 kg

At the university, Monty played both baseball and basketball and even participated in championships. At the professional level, Tau only played two seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

Thau and his partner, David Thompson, are credited with inventing the alley-oop. Basketball used to ban dunking, so players devised a way around the rule: one throws the ball, the other catches it and throws it into the basket mid-flight.

9. Spud Webb - 170 cm

Spud is the shortest basketball player in NBA dunk competition history. Photo: sportscasting.com

Date of birth: July 13, 1963
Career years: 1985 – 1998
Weight: 60 kg

Spud started playing basketball at school. He was not the shortest basketball player, but he could run fast and jump high. In seventh grade, Ebb was told that he was too short to play basketball and that he could not pass the physics exam for two years, which was required to make the school team. Two years later, he nevertheless received an invitation and scored 22 points in the first game. Then his height was only 160 cm, but he managed to perform dunks. In high school, he played on the junior varsity team, where he averaged 100 points, and in college he was a top 19 player.83 years old.

In professional basketball, only one player scored 100 points in a game

Top 10 highest scoring games

Analysts believed that due to his height, Webb would only be able to continue his career with the Harlem Globetrotters, a basketball show group. However, he was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the fourth round of the draft. The best years of Spad's career were spent with the Sacramento Kings, where he averaged 16 points per game.

In 1986, Webb became the lowest slam dunk winner. His archrival, defending champion Dominic Wilkins, had never seen a dunk from Webb before and underestimated him. Wilkins' coach said that his ward did not cook anything and did not even train before the competition.

10. Charlie Criss - 173 cm

During his career, Charlie was the shortest player in the NBA. Photo: reddit.com

Date of birth: November 6, 1948
Career years: 1975 - 1986
Weight: 75 kg

Criss had few interesting moments in his career. He played for four different teams, and the most successful was the 1977/78 season, in which Charlie scored an average of 11 points per match. After retiring, Criss worked as a golf instructor, commentator, and summer camp basketball coach.

Not rated. Calvin Murphy - 175 cm

Calvin played 1002 games in the NBA - more than the other lowest basketball players in the history of our rating. Photo: rocketswire.usatoday. com

Date of birth: May 9, 1948
Career years: 1970 - 1983
Weight: 75 kg

basketball jump

Murphy is the most titled, all-star and smallest basketball player in history inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He played his entire career for the Houston Rockets, where he averaged 17.3 points per game. As part of the Rockets, Murphy was named to the NBA rookie team, participated in the All-Star Game and was included in the symbolic team twice. In the Rockets, he is assigned the 23rd number.

Not rated. Barney Cedran - 163 cm

Date of birth: January 28, 1891
Career years: 1911 - 1938
Weight: 52 kg

there were no professional championships yet. He played basketball at the dawn of its history - from the beginning of the last century until the end of the 30s. Then growth did not matter as much as it does now, so the talented Barney managed to become one of the best basketball players of that time - and one of the shortest.


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