When the Washington Bullets took Muggsy Bogues with the 12th pick in the 1987 NBA draft, the 5'3" point guard was a punchline in the next day's local paper.
"I like Bogues as much as the next guy," Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser wrote. "It's just that the next guy's usually taller."
Bogues, a local product from Baltimore, played himself into the first round during a predraft camp in Chicago; he teamed with Scottie Pippen to go undefeated there and was one of 23 players invited to attend the draft. But even though he was a local, he still had his skeptics.
"[Kornheiser] made it seem like it was a novelty act having the tallest and shortest players on the same team," Bogues said of him and 7'7" Manute Bol, drafted by the Bullets in the second round in 1985. "I was strong-minded. I was thankful to be playing for my hometown."
Bogues got the last laugh, playing 14 seasons in the NBA and finishing 19th on the all-time assists list. He is, however, an anomaly.
Basketball has always been a game dominated by the tallest among us. There have been 248 players in ...
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Article written by C.J. Moore
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