The Long and Short of It (Part II)

Shortest Basketball Players (in the NBA)
The shortest player in the NBA currently is Denver’s 5’5” dynamo Earl Boykins. Boykins holds Eastern Michigan's career record for assists with 624 and ranks second on the scoring list with 2,211 points, behind former NBA player Kennedy McIntosh's 2,219. In his senior year, he averaged 25.7 ppg to place second in the nation in scoring. He averaged in double figures in scoring in each of his four seasons, starting all but one of his 122 games played and averaging 18.1 ppg for his career. He is one of the shortest most explosive player that I can remember. Would you believe he can benchpress 315 pounds! He led the U.S. 22-and-under team to the gold medal at the 1997 World University Games in Italy, leading the team with a 15.7 ppg average, and earning USA Basketball’s Athlete of the Year recognition in the process.

The shortest ever to play on NBA courts is the 5-3 Tyrone "Mugsy" Bogues. Bogues holds the record as the shortest player to ever dunk a basketball. Boykins has won the biannual Robert T. Spaulding 'High Dunk' contest in 1990, 1992 and 1994 and is considered one of the most skilled, and certainly the shortest executor of dunks in the history of the the game. Bogues graduated from Dunbar High School, the same school that produced future NBA players Reggie Williams, Reggie Lewis and David Wingate. As a senior in college, he led the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in scoring (14.8 ppg) and finished second among Atlantic Coast Conference guards in rebounding (3.8 rpg). He left college as the ACC's all-time leader in assists and steals (since surpassed by Chris Corchiani and Bobby Hurley). He has received the Francis Pomeroy Naismith Award in 1987, an award given to the nation's top player under six feet tall.

Atlanta Hawks’ legendary Spud Webb is the shortest man on record – 5’7” – who has won an NBA slam dunk contest. In 1986, Spud Webb bested teammate Dominique Wilkins to capture the crown. His dunks included the elevator two-handed double pump dunk, the one-handed off the backboard one-handed jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk, a 180-degree reverse double-pump slam, and finally, the 180-degree reverse two-handed jam from a lob bounce off the floor. He beat Wilkins aka "The Human Highlight Film" with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round. Would you believe he learned how to dunk when he was only 4'11"! After graduating in high school, he was not recruited by most colleges, mainly due to his size. Finally he attended Midland Junior College (in Midland, Texas) where he led his team to the junior college national title in 1982. In two years at N.C. State, Spud averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 assists per game.He played most of his NBA career with the Atlanta Hawks, but also had stints with the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. In 12 seasons, he averaged 9.9 points per game.

Last year, New York rookie Nathaniel "Nate" Robinson made it to the record books as the second shortest player to capture the NBA slam dunk championship. Using Spud Webb as part of the props, Robinson caught the Spud Webb pass and jammed it home to beat Philadelphia 76ers high-flying Andre Iguodala who stood a full nine inches over his 5-9 frame. Robinson was a two-sport star in college, having played football and basketball for Washington. He dunked for the first time in eighth grade. Robinson was the 21st selection by the Phoenix Suns (his rights were traded to the New York Knicks) in the NBA 2005 draft. Quoting New York Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas: “At that size, to get to this level, you have to have incredible speed. He has that. You got to have incredible intelligence. It's speed, basketball IQ and toughness to go inside and take a lick. Even though he's small, he's put together pretty tight. He can take a lick..."

Among the short players who donned an NBA jersey are Clippers' 5-9 Yuta Tabuse, Chicago's 5-10 Andre Barrett, Charlotte's 5-10 Brevin Knight, Memphis' 5-10 Damon Stoudamire, ex-Seattle and San Antonio guard 5-10 Mike Wilks, Memphis' 5-11 Chucky Atkins, ex-New Jersey guard 5-11 Travis Best, Milwaukee's 5-11 TJ Ford, Atlanta's 5-11 Craig "Speedy" Claxton, and Dallas' 5-11 Jose Juan Barea. Probably next time we'll be able to see a 1 foot point guard catching a pass and dunking it home. hehehe.


GIANT LEAP FOR EARL BOYKINS

Earl Boykins is a very unique person. At a puny 5’5” 133 pounds, he can bench press close to 315 pounds and made believers out of us - excelling in a game that was suited for tall people. He was not supposed to have survived 8 seasons in the NBA, the mecca of all basketball, let alone star on it. He was supposed to have given up his hoop dreams when coaches and so-called cage pundits tell him he’s not gonna cut it out playing hoops because he was too short for the game. But each time someone puts him down, Earl would come back and take it two steps forward. Earl knew, with his God-given abilities, he could make it into the big league. He was confident he could keep pace with the game’s top point guards. Earl is a survivor in the truest sense, a man who has defied all odds to become a star point guard for the Denver Nuggets.

Growing up
Parents Charlene and Willie couldn’t hide their pride and glee when a spanking baby boy they named Earl was born on June 2, 1976 in their small home at Cleveland, Ohio. To them, Earl was a gift from God, and an inspiration. Growing up, Earl was a very small child, inheriting the stature of his 4-11 mother and 5-8 father. At age three, he was so small his father would carry him to the rec center stuffed in a duffel bag! Things began to change when a young Earl developed a liking and passion for playing hoops.

Playing hoops
Earl grew up idolizing Indiana playground legend and Detroit Piston head coach Isiah Thomas and tried to pattern his game after him along with other short players who have made great strides in the pros: 5-7 Spud Webb who is in the NBA record books as the shortest player to ever win a slam dunk crown and the 5-3 Mugsy who is not only the shortest NBA player of all time but is also the shortest player to be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft (12th overall by the Washington Bullets). He played high school varsity ball at Central Catholic High. He played three years for the varsity, and led the whole state in scoring in his senior season. He was recruited by an Eastern Michigan scout to play college ball for the Eagles. Eastern Michigan University plays in the Mid-American Conference. The scout didn’t expect that Earl was so small, he had him mistaken as a ball boy at first.

In his freshman year, his coach listed him at 5-7 because he was embarassed to have such a small guard on his team. Earl later told his coach that there is nothing to be ashamed of because he was going to be the best player he has ever coached. He backed up his claim with averages of 12.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.5 apg and 0.1 bpg. In his senior year, he began to dominate, compiling averages of 25.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 5.5 apg, placing second in the NCAA in scoring. He was an honorable All-American and an All-Mid-American conference first team as a junior and a senior.

NBA dreams
Like most kids graduating out of college, Boykins dreamt of playing in the NBA. Various scouts peg him around the mid to late first round in the draft. Some draft outfits, however, were too harsh. They projected he would be a bubble pick – a low second round pick to undrafted. He was short, yes. But he was not lacking in talent. He had amazing ballhandling skills, had a marvelous steals per ratio, and excellent one-on-one skills. He came to play every night and earned a reputation as a hard-nosed competitor. Sadly, Earl never got to hear his name called by David Stern during the two-round draft proceedings, thereby crashing the hopes of the young man of playing in the big league. Young Earl, however, refused to give up.

Early struggles
Earl tried out and latched onto several NBA teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and the Orlando Magic, signing 10-day contracts, and bouncing from one team to another. He also played for the Rockford Lightning in the CBA in between one of his NBA stops. Earl was a rage since not many 5’5” guards could play in the pros. More than his skills, NBA teams look into Earl as a novelty who would help drum up interest in the team and the league with his unique skills and small size.

Finally, an opportunity presents itself
It was with the Golden State Warriors, however, that Earl was finally given a chance to show what he could do on the court and took full advantage of the opportunity given to him by churning out career-highs 8.8 ppg and 3.2 apg.
Earl would then sign up with the Denver Nugget the following season and in 2004-05, received consideration for NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award with mind-boggling averages and career best marks of 12.4 ppg, and 4.5 apg in 26.4 minutes per contest, playing in all 82 games for the second straight season.

Mr. Clutch and Double-Digit Midget
Earl has been terrific in his role as a backup point guard to Andre Miller. He is a cold-blooded mercenary in the clutch – often burying a shot when the game is on the line. His ability to score off the bench along with his low-to-the-floor stature gained him the moniker "the Double-Digit Midget". On January 18, 2005, Earl set an NBA record for scoring in overtime when he tallied 15 points. Earl has scored more than thirty points in three games in NBA and plans to add more to that figure. This season, he is averaging 16.3 ppg and 5 apg as not only the league’s shortest active player but also the most productive player below 5-6.

Boykins as an inspiration to all short players
Earl is every guy who plays in the gym who is less than six feet tall, plays like a Tasmanian devil and competes hard to give his opponents fits on the offensive end. He would dominate the game with the speed and shooting touch that would remind you of Michael Jordan’s game in Spud Webb’s body. Simply put, if Earl was at least a foot taller, he would be an NBA superstar. The Denver Nuggets, however, believe Earl is already a superstar in his own right.

Indeed, Earl has come a long, long way. He’s not mistaken by anyone anymore as the Nuggets’ ballboy or equipment manager. In fact, he is the second most popular player on the Nugget’s roster after Carmelo Anthony. He receives more than 50 fan letters a week from parents thanking him for inspiring their undersized kids.

"I don't look at my height as a disadvantage," says Boykins. "I'm unique.”