The Shortest NBA Players of All Time

The shortest player in NBA history is Muggsy Bogues, who stood just 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) and still carved out a 14-year career. In a league where the average player is well over six and a half feet tall, Bogues turned being the smallest man on the floor into an advantage.

Basketball rewards height like few other sports, which makes the players at the other extreme all the more remarkable. They survived on speed, ball-handling, court vision and sheer nerve. Here is the full leaderboard of the shortest players in NBA history, the stories that made them famous, and why size was never the whole story. All figures are as of the 2025 season.

The record holder: Muggsy Bogues at 5’3”

Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues was not just short for a moment; he was a genuine NBA starter for years. Drafted 12th overall in 1987, he became the engine of the Charlotte Hornets, where he still ranks among the franchise leaders in assists and steals. His low center of gravity made him a nightmare for taller guards to defend, and he even recorded 39 career blocked shots, an almost absurd total for a 5’3” player.

Bogues proved that quickness and basketball IQ could offset a huge height disadvantage. Opponents who tried to post him up often found themselves stripped of the ball before they could shoot.

The full leaderboard of the shortest NBA players

The table below ranks the shortest players in NBA history by listed height. Active players are noted.

Rank	Height	Player	Era
1	5’3”	Muggsy Bogues	1987-2001
2	5’5”	Earl Boykins	1998-2012
3	5’6”	Mel Hirsch	1946-1947
4	5’7”	Spud Webb	1985-1998
4	5’7”	Greg Grant	1989-1996
4	5’7”	Keith Jennings	1992-1995
4	5’7”	Wat Misaka	1947-1948
8	5’8”	Charlie Criss	1977-1985
8	5’8”	Yuki Kawamura*	2024-present
10	5’9”	Calvin Murphy	1970-1983
10	5’9”	Nate Robinson	2005-2015

Listed heights from the earliest eras can be imprecise, and modern shoeless measurements have shaved fractions off some listings. Even so, Bogues stands alone at 5’3”, with no one else in league history officially shorter than 5’5”.

Earl Boykins and the strongmen of small ball

Earl Boykins, the second-shortest player ever at 5’5”, was famous for his surprising strength and could reportedly bench press well over 300 pounds. He averaged double figures in several seasons and once scored 32 points in a game off the bench, showing that a small guard could be a genuine scoring threat, not just a novelty. He complemented the pure playmakers who dominate the most assists in NBA history leaderboard.

Spud Webb and the leaping legends

Perhaps the most famous short player of all is Spud Webb, whose 1986 Slam Dunk Contest win over teammate Dominique Wilkins remains an iconic moment. At 5’7”, Webb had extraordinary hops, and his victory rewrote what fans thought a small player could do above the rim. Decades later, 5’9” Nate Robinson took the idea further, winning three dunk titles.

Height at the opposite extreme is just as compelling: see our leaderboard of the tallest NBA players of all time, where 7’7” giants sit at the summit.

Why the record matters

The shortest players are proof that basketball is not decided by height alone. Bogues, Boykins and Webb succeeded through skills that scouting reports cannot always measure: quickness, vision, toughness and confidence. Their careers inspire every undersized player who is told they are too small, and they endure in the record book alongside the oldest NBA players in history as testaments to longevity against the odds.

The short version: Muggsy Bogues is the shortest NBA player ever at 5’3”, ahead of Earl Boykins (5’5”) and a 5’7” group featuring dunk champion Spud Webb. As of the 2025 season, no player has broken into the league shorter than Bogues.