A Tribute to the "LITTLE GIANTS"

In basketball, height helps only if it is backed by skill, speed, strength, stamina and sharpshooting.

It's obvious that basketball is usually played by tall folks. After all, the basket is a fixed height off the floor, so it's easier to make a basket or keep someone else from doing so if you're tall enough to reach above the basket rim. So... the average height of NBA players has climbed steadily and is now six feet, seven inches.
There are, however, some striking exceptions to the "taller is better" idea. Lets call them the “Little Giants” of the NBA.

THE VERY SHORTEST : TYRONE “MUGGSY” BOGUES 5 FEET 3 INCHES

Standing only 5-3 Muggsy Bogues wasn’t the most intimidating physical specimen on the basketball court, but his talent combined with the passion and drive with which he played the game gave him an advantage that set him apart from his competitors and endeared him to fans throughout the country.
When he was a child in the Baltimore projects, people used to laugh at Muggsy Bogues for his unending dedication to the sport where height matters most: basketball. How could a kid who stopped growing when he was ten -- at barely over five feet -- compete with six- and seven-footers? After he guided what might have been the best high school basketball team ever to the state championships and through two straight undefeated seasons, people didn't believe he would be able to handle college ball. He proved them wrong yet again, at Wake Forest University, but they still doubted he could make it in the NBA, at least as anything more than an oddity. But after a shaky start with the Washington Bullets, he hit his stride with the most successful expansion team ever, the Charlotte Hornets, leading them to the NBA playoffs in five short years, silencing the naysayers forever.
As a point guard, Bogues enjoyed a 14-year NBA playing career, including nine-plus years in Charlotte as he was one of original members of the NBA in Charlotte in 1988 when the Hornets picked him in the Expansion Draft.
The top playing moments of his career came in Charlotte, as he averaged 10.8 points and 10.1 assists in 1993-94, a career-high 10.7 assists in 1989-90, a personal-best 11.1 points in 1994-95 and was regularly among the NBA leaders in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. He averaged 8.8 points, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals during his nine-plus year tenure in Charlotte, up from his career averages of 7.7 points, 7.6 assists and 1.54 steals. In Layman terms he used his height (or the lack of it) to his advantage. No one could steal the ball from him ; tall guys would have had to bend a lot to do so , and by that time he would have flew by them. He was also among the best in assists. How he saw his teammates given his small stature is still a mystery!!!!!
Aside from being the all-time shortest NBA player, Bogues was also the shortest to be able to DUNK the ball.(The basket is 10ft from floor). Bogues is currently head coach of the Women's NBA team, the Charlotte Sting.
In 1996, Bogues managed to block a shot and embarrass 7'0" NBA great Patrick Ewing.

THE LEAPING ANTHONY “SPUD” WEBB 5 FEET 7INCHES

Anthony "Spud" Webb, had a 12-year NBA basketball career. The 5-foot 7-inch phenom enon with an amazing 42 inch vertical jump, overcame the greatest of insurmountable odds and electrified crowds all over the world with his dunking ability and competitive spirit.
Despite Spud's incredible college career, he was not selected in the NBA draft because of his size.

Spud's greatest achievement may be his stunning victory at the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Championship where he defeated many high-flying artists that were more than a foot taller than him, including Atlanta Hawks teammate Dominique Wilkins.

Current little giant Earl Boykins - 5 feet, 5 inches

Earl Boykins, in his 8th NBA season, is a point guard for the Denver Nuggets, and is the NBA leading scorer off the bench.
On January 18, 2005, Earl Boykins set an NBA record for most points in overtime with 15 points. Boykins’ clutch performance came against the Northwest Division-leading Seattle Supersonics, when he hit on four of five shots from the field, including one three-pointer, and on six of seven from the free-throw line. That set an NBA record of 15 points in an overtime period, eclipsing the previous best of 14 by Indiana’s Butch Carter in 1984. On the other bucket the Nuggets scored in that overtime, Boykins had the assist. Denver won, 116-110.
These two photos are of Earl with Yao Ming, Houston Rocket big man at 7' 5". Shawn Bradley of Dallas is the NBA's tallest current player at 7'6".

Another current little giant Nate Robinson - 5 feet, 9 inches

Nate recently made news (and controversy) with a win in the NBA slam-dunk contest over Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. Clearly, Nate's final slam was a sentimental and crowd favorite, when he leaped over Spud Webb (see pic) to slam the ball home. Nate was recruited by the U. of Washington for football, played both sports for one year, then dropped football, was All-American in his junior year, then opted for the 2005 NBA draft. He was drafted #21 in the first round by Phoenix, and is now a rookie with the New York Knicks.

Lets make no mistake about it. Height helps. But only if it is supported by skill, speed, strength, stamina and sharpshooting, the first four of them constituting athleticism. Take the 6’7” Chinese team and pit it against an American team averaging 6’ and the Americans would still win at a canter. No Yao Ming at 6’7” would stop the likes of Iverson 1 ½ feet shorter.
These people mentioned above teach us a very important lesson – A true champion is one who use what he has, how little it may be, to his advantage and not blame his faith for his failures. These people were discouraged by others in every step of their lives, they were told that they were too short to play basketball. But these “Little Giants” overcame every obstacle they faced and became true legends of the game. They proved that if your heart is big enough any dream can become a reality.