Baltimore, Dunbar, and a high school superteam
Tyrone Curtis Bogues was born in Baltimore in January 1965 and got the nickname “Muggsy” for his pickpocket-style defense as a kid. He attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Baltimore, which from 1981 to 1983 fielded one of the most-loaded prep basketball teams ever assembled — Bogues, Reggie Williams (1986 NCAA champion at Georgetown), Reggie Lewis (Boston Celtics), and David Wingate (Georgetown). The Poets went 59-0 over Bogues’ last two seasons.
He played college ball at Wake Forest from 1983 to 1987, finishing as the school’s all-time assists leader and the ACC career steals leader. The Washington Bullets drafted him 12th overall in 1987 — a first-round pick on a player who couldn’t see over the lectern at his own draft press conference.
The Charlotte years
Bogues was claimed by Charlotte in the 1988 expansion draft and stayed for ten seasons — the entire original Hornets era. Charlotte averaged 23,901 fans per game during his tenure, leading the NBA in attendance for a stretch of years that locked the city as a basketball market. Bogues started 638 games for the Hornets and made the playoffs four times.
His most-told highlight: a Game 4 first-round upset of the Boston Celtics in May 1993, when Charlotte advanced past Boston to face the Knicks. Bogues had 8 points and 11 assists in that close-out game. His most-played highlight: blocking Patrick Ewing’s reverse layup attempt in 1993 — a 5’3″ guard rejecting a 7-foot center, captured on the only camera angle that showed both players in frame.
Other small giants of NBA history
Behind Bogues at 5’3″, the next-shortest players are Earl Boykins at 5’5″ (12 NBA seasons, including a 32-point game off the bench for Denver), Mel Hirsch at 5’6″ (one season with the 1946-47 Boston Celtics), and Spud Webb at 5’7″ — winner of the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest, defeating teammate and reigning champion Dominique Wilkins in front of a Dallas crowd that hadn’t expected him to even enter the contest.
Among current players, Yogi Ferrell and Jordan Goodwin are listed at 6’0″ or shorter; the league has trended toward bigger guards. Charlotte hasn’t drafted a player under 5’10” since Bogues. The Hornets retired the franchise’s #1 jersey in his honor before a home game against Indiana in November 2018.
More in Physical Extremes
Shaquille O'Neal Height: 7'1" and 325 lbs Tallest NBA Player Ever: Mureșan and Bol at 7'7"Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Muggsy Bogues and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records.