List of shortest players in NBA history

This is a complete listing of the shortest basketball players in National Basketball Association history at a listed height of 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) or shorter. Only 25 players in NBA history have been at or below this height.[1] The shortest NBA player to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is Calvin Murphy at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m). All of the players listed here have played or play the position of point guard. The most seasons played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by a player listed at 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) or shorter was 14 seasons by Muggsy Bogues who played from 1987 to 2001.

The shortest player ever in the old American Basketball Association (1967–76) was Penny Ann Early, a 5-foot-3-inch (160 cm) jockey who took part in one play in one game for the Kentucky Colonels as a publicity stunt in 1969. (The shortest signed ABA players were Jerry Dover and Monte Towe, both 5 feet 7 inches or 170 centimetres.)

Table[edit]

^ Active NBA player
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
GP Games played FG% Field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage
Height Weight Player Nationality Teams GP Points Rebounds[a] Assists Steals[b] FG% FT% Notes
Total Per game Total Per game Total Per game Total Per game
5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 136 lb (62 kg) Muggsy Bogues[2]  USA Washington Bullets (1987–1988)
Charlotte Hornets (1988–1997)
Golden State Warriors (1997–1999)
Toronto Raptors (1999–2001) 		889 6,858 7.7 2,318 2.6 6,726 7.6 1,369 1.5 .458 .827 Played alongside the second tallest player in NBA history, Manute Bol, during the 1987–88 season for the Washington Bullets; their difference in height was 28 inches (71 cm).

Appeared in the film Space Jam,[3] which was filmed in 1995.[4]

5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) 135 lb (61 kg) Earl Boykins[5]  USA New Jersey Nets (1999)
Cleveland Cavaliers (1999, 2000)
Orlando Magic (1999)
Los Angeles Clippers (2001–2002)
Golden State Warriors (2002–2003)
Denver Nuggets (2003–2007)
Milwaukee Bucks (2007, 2011)
Charlotte Bobcats (2008)
Washington Wizards (2009–2010)
Houston Rockets (2012) 		652 5,791 8.9 877 1.3 2,092 3.2 390 0.6 .417 .876
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Mel Hirsch[6]  USA Boston Celtics (1946–1947) 13 19 1.5 — — 10 0.8 — — .200 .500
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 140 lb (64 kg) Greg Grant[7]  USA Phoenix Suns (1989–1990)
New York Knicks (1990–1991)
Charlotte Hornets (1991–1992)
Philadelphia 76ers (1991–1992, 1992–1993, 1995–1996)
Washington Bullets (1995–1996)
Denver Nuggets (1994–1995, 1995–1996) 		274 767 2.8 248 0.9 751 2.7 161 0.6 .383 .710
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Keith Jennings[8]  USA Golden State Warriors (1992–1995) 164 1,090 6.6 248 1.5 614 3.7 164 1.0 .436 .852
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Red Klotz[9]  USA Baltimore Bullets (1947–1948) 11 15 1.4 — — 7 0.6 — — .226 .333 Shortest player to ever win an NBA championship. Later served as longtime head coach of the Washington Generals.
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Wat Misaka[10]  USA New York Knicks (1947–1948) 3 7 2.3 — — 0 0.0 — — .231 .333 First Non-Caucasian player and first Asian American player in the NBA.
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Markquis Nowell[11]  USA Toronto Raptors (2023–2024) 1 2 2.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 1 1.0 .000 1.000
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Monte Towe[12]  USA Denver Nuggets (1976–1977) 51 130 2.5 34 0.7 87 1.7 16 0.3 .406 .720 The shortest player in the original ABA.

ABA All-Star (1976)

5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 133 lb (60 kg) Spud Webb[13][14]  USA Atlanta Hawks (1985–1991, 1995–1996)
Sacramento Kings (1991–1995)
Minnesota Timberwolves (1996)
Orlando Magic (1998) 		814 8,072 9.9 1,742 2.1 4,342 5.3 922 1.1 .452 .848 Won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1986; shortest player to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest.
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Charlie Criss[15]  USA Atlanta Hawks (1977–1981, 1983–1984, 1984–1985)
San Diego Clippers (1981–1982)
Milwaukee Bucks (1982–1984) 		418 3,534 8.5 592 1.4 1,335 3.2 366 0.9 .432 .831
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jacob Gilyard^[16]  USA Memphis Grizzlies (2022–2024)
Brooklyn Nets (2024–present) 		38 176 4.6 47 1.2 138 3.6 30 0.8 .415 1.000
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Dino Martin[17]  USA Providence Steamrollers (1946–1948) 92 834 9.1 — — 73 0.8 — — .294 .638
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Willie Somerset[18]  USA Baltimore Bullets (1965–1966) 8 45 5.6 15 1.9 9 1.1 — — .419 .818 ABA All-Star (1969)
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Howie Carl[19]  USA Chicago Packers (1961–1962) 31 170 5.5 39 1.3 57 1.8 — — .333 .706
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Kay Felder[20]  USA Cleveland Cavaliers (2016–2017)
Chicago Bulls (2017)
Detroit Pistons (2018) 		58 223 3.8 59 1.0 78 1.3 21 0.4 .364 .754
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 158 lb (72 kg) Charlie Hoefer[21]  DEU Toronto Huskies (1946–1947)
Boston Celtics (1947–1948) 		65 361 5.6 — — 36 0.6 — — .250 .646
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Lionel Malamed[22]  USA Indianapolis Jets (1948)
Rochester Royals (1948–1949) 		44 258 5.9 — — 61 1.4 — — .334 .831
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Ed Melvin[23]  USA Pittsburgh Ironmen (1946–1947) 57 281 4.9 — — 37 0.6 — — .263 .654
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Calvin Murphy*[24]  USA San Diego/Houston Rockets (1970–1983) 1,002 17,949 17.9 2,103 2.1 4,402 4.4 1,165 1.5 .482 .892 Shortest NBA player to be inducted to the Hall of Fame, as well as appear in at least one All-Star Game.[c]
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Angelo Musi[26]  USA Philadelphia Warriors (1946–1949) 161 1,359 8.4 — — 117 0.7 — — .290 .771 BAA champion (1947)
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Ralph O'Brien  USA Indianapolis Olympians (1951–1952)
Fort Wayne Pistons (1953)
Baltimore Bullets (1953) 		119 848 7.1 192 1.6 180 1.5 — — .360 .830
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nate Robinson[27]  USA New York Knicks (2005–2010)
Boston Celtics (2009–2011)
Oklahoma City Thunder (2011)
Golden State Warriors (2011–2012)
Chicago Bulls (2012–2013)
Denver Nuggets (2013–2015)
Los Angeles Clippers (2015)
New Orleans Pelicans (2015) 		618 6,807 11.0 1,446 2.3 1,826 3.0 543 0.9 .423 .796 The only three-time winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, winning in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Gene Rock[28]  USA Chicago Stags (1947–1948) 11 10 0.9 — — 0 0.0 — — .222 .500
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Yuta Tabuse[29]  JPN Phoenix Suns (2004–2005) 4 7 1.8 4 1.0 3 0.8 0 0.0 .167 1.000 The first Japanese-born player to play in the NBA.
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Isaiah Thomas^[30]  USA Sacramento Kings (2011–2014)
Phoenix Suns (2014–2015, 2024–present)
Boston Celtics (2015–2017)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)
Los Angeles Lakers (2018, 2021)
Denver Nuggets (2018–2019)
Washington Wizards (2019–2020)
New Orleans Pelicans (2021)
Dallas Mavericks (2021)
Charlotte Hornets (2022) 		550 9,715 17.7 1,321 2.4 2,638 4.8 472 0.9 .434 .872 Shortest player to be included in an All-NBA Team.
Shortest player to play in an NBA All-Star game (tied with Calvin Murphy).
Shortest player to play in multiple All-Star games.
Shortest player to record a triple-double in a game.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The National Basketball Association did not record rebound statistics until the 1950–51 season.
  2. ^ The National Basketball Association did not record steal statistics until the 1973–74 season.
  3. ^ The shortest player in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of fame is pre-NBA player Barney Sedran, at 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm).[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Player Season Finder: For combined seasons; played in the NBA/BAA; in the regular season; from 1946–47 to 2010–11; 5–9 or shorter; sorted by descending height". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  2. ^ "Muggsy Bogues Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  3. ^ Space Jam, retrieved 2020-02-18
  4. ^ "Space Jam (1996)", IMDb, retrieved 2020-02-18
  5. ^ "Earl Boykins Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  6. ^ "Mel Hirsch Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Greg Grant Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Keith Jennings Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  9. ^ "Louis Herman (Herm, Red) Klotz Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Wataru (Wat) Misaka Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Markquis Nowell Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Monte Corwin Towe Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  13. ^ "Spud Webb Smallest Player to ever Win NBA Slam Dunk Contest". thepostgame.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Spud Webb". NBA.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Charlie Criss Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  16. ^ "Jacob Gilyard Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Donald E. (Dino) Martin Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  18. ^ "Willard F. (Willie) Somerset Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  19. ^ "Howard Hershey (Howie) Carl Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  20. ^ "Kay Felder Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  21. ^ "Adolph Charles (Dutch, Dutch, Charlie) Hoefer Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  22. ^ "Lionel Malamed Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  23. ^ "Edward H. (Ed) Melvin Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  24. ^ "Calvin Murphy Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  25. ^ Barney Sedran's page at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame retrieved September 19, 2016
  26. ^ "Angelo Jr. Musi Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  27. ^ "Nate Robinson Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  28. ^ "Eugene (Gene) Rock Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  29. ^ "Yuta Tabuse Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  30. ^ "Isaiah Thomas Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
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