The 5 Shortest NBA Players of All-Time

It may come as a surprise, but you don’t have to be the tallest athlete to make it in the NBA. While it’s quite the convenience to be a taller player for obvious reasons in the sport, that hasn’t stopped some very short players from making their mark on the NBA.

In this article, we’ll outline five of the shortest NBA players of all time, including what teams they played for and how their careers panned out.

5. Gregg Grant  – 5 ft 7 in

Starting the selection of shortest NBA players to ever grace the American pro basketball league is Gregg Grant at a height of 5’7”, along with five other players, including Keith Jennings (Golden State Warriors 1992-1995), Red Klotz (Baltimore Bullets 1947-1948), Wat Misaka (New York Knicks 1947-1948) Markquis Nowell (Toronto Raptors 2023-2024) and Monte Towe (Denver Nuggets 1976-1977).

Of course, all of these players are tied at a height of 5’7”, we selected Gregg Grant due to the number of teams he appeared on, including the Phoenix Suns starting in 1989, then the Knicks, the Hornets, the 76ers and the Washington Bullets, before finishing out his career for the Denver Nuggets in 1996, showing that small players can be desirable by any team in basketball.

T3. Mel Hirsch – 5 ft 6 in

Up next is one of two players to ever reach the NBA at a height of 5’6”, the first being Mel Hirsch. Hirsch played for the Boston Celtics in 1946 for one season, which would wind up being his entire NBA career.

While his short-lived time in the Association career ended in 1947, the Celtics will remember him as the smallest player to ever play on the team.

T3. Spud Webb – 5 ft 6 in

Tied for third place with Mel Hirsch as one of the shortest NBA players of all time is Spud Webb, a player with a much different career than Hirsch’s. Webb started as the Atlanta Hawks’ point guard in 1985, where he’d play until 1991 before heading to the Sacramento Kings until 1995.

He then returned to the Hawks before ending his career with the Orlando Magic in 1998 after averaging 9.9 points per game throughout his career in a whopping 814 total games played. Not only that, but Webb won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1986 while being the shortest player to participate in it.

2. Earl Boykins – 5 ft 5 in

A clear second place for one of the shortest players to ever play in the NBA is Earl Boykins at a height of 5’5”. Boykins began his NBA career in 1999 for the New Jersey Nets before being traded to the Orlando Magic that same year.

When we tell you Earl Boykins played for a lot of teams, we aren’t exaggerating. In 2001, Boykins would play for the LA Clippers before moving to the Golden State Warriors in 2002. Then, he’d switch to the Denver Nuggets for four years from 2003-2007 before ending up with the Milwaukee Bucks for another four-year term. He’d also play several games with the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, and Houston Rockets throughout 2008-2012, accumulating a total of 652 games played with an average of 8.9 points per game. And as you can see from the above video, he became the shortest player in the history of the NBA to score 30 points in a game.

1. Muggsy Bogues – 5 ft 3 in

Last but not least is the shortest player to ever play in the NBA, Muggsy Bogues, with a height of 5’3”! Starting his career in 1987 for the Washington Bullets, Bogues would make history as the shortest player on every team he joined, including the Charlotte Hornets until 1997, the Golden State Warriors until 1999, and the Toronto Raptors until 2001.

With a cameo in Space Jam to add to his list of accomplishments, he amassed 889 total games played while averaging 7.7 points per game, showing a player like him could be small but fierce.