List of shortest players in National Basketball Association history

This is a complete listing of the shortest 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' 9". With one exception, Dino Martin (a forward), all of the players listed here have played or play the position of point guard. When 5'9" Isaiah Thomas tipped off against 5'9" Tyler Ulis, it was speculated to be the shortest combined jump ball ever.[2]

Table
^ Active NBA player
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
GPGames playedPtsPointsPPGPoints per game
FG%Field goal percentageFT%Free throw percentageAstAssists
APGAssists per gameStlStealsSPGSteals per game
Height Weight Player Nationality Teams GP Pts PPG FG% FT% Ast APG Stl[lower-alpha 1] SPG[lower-alpha 1] Notes
5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 136 lb (62 kg) Muggsy Bogues[3]  USA Washington Bullets (1987–1988)
Charlotte Hornets (1988–1997)
Golden State Warriors (1997–1999)
Toronto Raptors (1999–2001)		 889 6,858 7.7 .458 .827 6,726 7.6 1,369 1.54 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[4], which was filmed in 1995.[5]

5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) 135 lb (61 kg) Earl Boykins[6]  USA New Jersey Nets (1999)
Cleveland Cavaliers (1999, 2000)
Orlando Magic (1999)
Los Angeles Clippers (2001–2002)
Golden State Warriors (2002–03)
Denver Nuggets (2003–2007)
Milwaukee Bucks (2007, 2011)
Charlotte Bobcats (2008)
Washington Wizards (2009–10)
Houston Rockets (2012)		 652 5,791 8.9 .417 .876 2,092 3.2 390 0.60
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Mel Hirsch[7]  USA Boston Celtics (1946–1947) 13 19 1.5 .200 .500 10 0.8 — — During his time, was the NBA's shortest player.
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 140 lb (64 kg) Greg Grant[8]  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 .383 .710 751 2.7 161 0.59
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Keith Jennings[9]  USA Golden State Warriors (1992–1995) 164 1,090 6.6 .436 .852 614 3.7 164 1.00
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Red Klotz[10]  USA Baltimore Bullets (1947–1948) 11 15 1.4 .226 .333 7 0.6 — — 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) Wataru Misaka[11]  USA New York Knicks (1947–1948) 3 7 2.3 .333 0 0.0 — — — First Non-Caucasian player and first Asian player in the NBA.
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Monte Towe[12]  USA Denver Nuggets (1976–1977) 51 130 2.5 .406 .720 87 1.7 16 0.31 The shortest player in the original ABA.
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 133 lb (60 kg) Spud Webb[13]  USA Atlanta Hawks (1985–1991, 1995–1996)
Sacramento Kings (1991–1995)
Minnesota Timberwolves (1996)
Orlando Magic (1998)		 814 8,072 9.9 .452 .848 4,342 5.3 922 1.13 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[14]  USA Atlanta Hawks (1977–1981, 1983–1984, 1984–1985)
San Diego Clippers (1981–1982)
Milwaukee Bucks (1982–1984)		 418 3,534 8.5 .432 .831 1,335 3.2 366 0.88
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Dino Martin[15]  USA Providence Steamrollers (1946–1948) 92 834 9.1 .294 .638 73 0.8 — — The only player on this list who did not play the guard position.
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Willie Somerset[16]  USA Baltimore Bullets (1965–1966) 8 45 5.6 .419 .818 9 1.1 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Howie Carl[17]  USA Chicago Packers (1961–1962) 31 170 5.5 .333 .706 57 1.8 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 158 lb (72 kg) Charlie Hoefer[18]  GER Toronto Huskies (1946–1947)
Boston Celtics (1947–1948)		 65 361 5.6 .250 .646 36 0.6 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Lionel Malamed[19]  USA Indianapolis Jets (1948)
Rochester Royals (1948–1949)		 44 258 5.9 .334 .831 61 1.4 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Ed Melvin[20]  USA Pittsburgh Ironmen (1946–1947) 57 281 4.9 .263 .654 37 0.6 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Calvin Murphy*[21]  USA San Diego/Houston Rockets (1970–1983) 1,002 17,949 17.9 .482 .892 4,402 4.4 1,165 1.53 Shortest NBA player to be inducted to the Hall of Fame, as well as appear in at least one All-Star Game.[lower-alpha 2]
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Angelo Musi[23]  USA Philadelphia Warriors (1946–1949) 161 1,359 8.4 .290 .771 117 0.7 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Ralph O'Brien  USA Indianapolis Olympians (1951–1952)
Baltimore Bullets		 119 848 7.1 .360 .830 180 1.5 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nate Robinson[24]  USA New York Knicks (2005–2010)
Boston Celtics (2009–2011)
Oklahoma City Thunder (2011)
Golden State Warriors (2011–12)
Chicago Bulls (2012–2013)
Denver Nuggets (2013–2015)
Los Angeles Clippers (2015)
New Orleans Pelicans (2015)		 574 6,569 11.4 .427 .800 1,725 3.0 522 0.91 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[25]  USA Chicago Stags (1947–1948) 11 10 0.9 .222 .500 0 0.0 — —
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Yuta Tabuse[26]  JPN Phoenix Suns (2004–2005) 4 7 1.8 .167 1.000 3 0.8 0 0.00 The first Japanese born player to play in the NBA.
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Isaiah Thomas^[27]  USA Sacramento Kings (2011–2014)
Phoenix Suns (2014–2015)
Boston Celtics (2015–2017)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)
Los Angeles Lakers (2018)
Denver Nuggets (2018–2019)

Washington Wizards (2019)

 485 9,020 18.6 .437 .874 2,453 5.1 451 0.9 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.
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Kay Felder[28]  USA Cleveland Cavaliers (2016–2017)
Chicago Bulls (2017)
Detroit Pistons (2018)		 58 223 3.8 .364 .754 78 1.3 21 0.4

Notes
  1. The National Basketball Association did not record steal statistics until the 1973–74 season.
  2. The shortest player in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of fame is pre-NBA player Barney Sedran, at 5 feet 4 inches.[22]

See also

References
  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. "Isaiah Thomas vs. Tyler Ulis may have been the shortest jump ball in NBA history". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  3. "Muggsy Bogues Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  4. Space Jam, retrieved 2020-02-18
  5. Space Jam (1996) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-02-18
  6. "Earl Boykins Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  7. "Mel Hirsch Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  8. "Greg Grant Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  9. "Keith Jennings Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  10. "Louis Herman (Herm, Red) Klotz Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  11. "Wataru (Wat) Misaka Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  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. "Charlie Criss Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  15. "Donald E. (Dino) Martin Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  16. "Willard F. (Willie) Somerset Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  17. "Howard Hershey (Howie) Carl Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  18. "Adolph Charles (Dutch, Dutch, Charlie) Hoefer Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  19. "Lionel Malamed Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  20. "Edward H. (Ed) Melvin Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  21. "Calvin Murphy Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  22. Barney Sedran's page at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame retrieved September 19, 2016
  23. "Angelo Jr. Musi Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  24. "Nate Robinson Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  25. "Eugene (Gene) Rock Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  26. "Yuta Tabuse Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  27. "Isaiah Thomas Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  28. "Kay Felder Info Page". NBA. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
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