As you know, the best NBA basketball player in history is Michael Jordan. This man, without exaggeration, was the god of basketball. He was good both in the game and in the slam dunk tournament. However, how many more players are worthy of mention and respect? How many cool Dunkers, jumpers and snipers were in the NBA - an incredible amount. Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille Onil, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson - all of them are legends of the National Basketball Association. By the way, the last one from the list - was not very tall, unlike other basketball players. Allen Iverson's height is 183 centimeters, which is very small for a professional basketball player. Nevertheless, he is not the lowest player who was distinguished in the league by the quality and performance of the game. This post will focus on the lowest NBA players who have hit the world with their skills.
5th position. Nate Robinson - NBA smallest basketball player scores from above - master of slam dunk and pacifier of giants
Over the course of a ten-year career at the National Basketball Association, Nate Robinson has replaced eight clubs, among which he stayed for five years at the New York Knicks. Whatever team Robinson played in, coaches and teammates everywhere noted his complex character. Nate Robinson is the eldest son in the family, he used to that his six brothers always obeyed him and reckoned with his opinion. Therefore, the team Robinson was not always comfortable living in discipline and order. The trainers complained that the "shorty" is difficult to drive into a certain framework, i.e. discipline in which the team lives. After all, Nate always stormed the walls that were in his way. He was a cheerful and sociable guy who is always ready to play his teammates and make a funny joke.
This guy did not regret that he connected his life with basketball. In 2002, he had a choice between football and basketball, in both games he showed his best side. Nevertheless, Nate chose a less easy path for himself, challenging all the stereotypes associated with basketball. At 31, Robinson was already a three-time winner of the slam dunk tournament - in 2006, 2009 and 2010. Given that the growth of this basketball player is only 175 centimeters, Nate deserves the title of the legend of slam dunk.
Robinson's legendary jump through Dwight Howard
Nate Robinson's jumps will probably not be forgotten for a very long time. Many American fans still see his jump through the two-meter “baby” Dwight Howard (2.12 m) and puts the ball in the basket from above. Nate is the NBA's lowest basketball player who managed to dunk through a barrier more than two meters high. In addition, Nate Robinson is one of the five NBA basketball players in terms of jump height - 110.5 centimeters. He even managed to cover (put a block-shot) the famous Chinese basketball player Yao Ming, whose growth is 229 centimeters. Currently, Robinson rarely plays basketball, being the owner of a major restaurant in Seattle called Chicken & Waffles. Nevertheless, he did not finish his career, and therefore is considered the smallest NBA basketball player to date.
4th position. Webb recession: jumping from a place above a meter, humiliating two-meter guys in the dunks
“Hey, microbe! This is a game for big guys, you don’t have a place here ”- about these words the young and little Anthony Webb heard when he came to the basketball court of one of the Dallas districts. In the seventh grade, when his height was 160 centimeters, he heard criticism from the school coach, who advised him not to play basketball, because this is pointless. Apparently, humiliation and discrimination were a good motivation for milking Webb - he did not give up and began to prove the opposite to everyone. The guy began to train hard and a year later became the best basketball player of the school team.
Webb recession jumped 110 centimeters
His jump compensated for all his shortcomings - Webb could jump a meter, it happened, and higher. Mostly played the role of a point guard, however, often he himself was distinguished by goals in the basket. Soon he was invited to the university team of North Carolina, where he hit everyone with his jump - 110 centimeters from a place. Jumping allowed the guy to play defensively and lay balls in the ring. However, even when his height reached 170 centimeters, the NBA was an impossible dream for him. Many advised him to move to Europe, because the level of the game there is much lower. Suggestions came from Harlem Glob Trotters (basketball stunt show), but Webb Recession knew his goal and didn't betray it. In 1985, he was signed with the Detroit team through a draft, and very soon moved to Atalanta. As a result, a kid nicknamed Spud (which translates as “Hoe”) played thirteen seasons at the National Basketball Association, where he had good game statistics every year. On average, he scored 9.9 points per game and made 4 assists. In 1986, Anthony Spade Webb became the champion of the NBA Throwing Top (Slam Dunk Contest), winning the final against Dominic Wilkins (growth 2.03 measure).
3rd position. Earl Boykins: added on top 5 centimeters from shame for the "baby"
It is very difficult to be seen in a draft when your height is 165 centimeters. At the start of his career, Boykins trained not with a basketball, but with tennis. Once the coach of the Eastern Michigan student team wrote on his personal card that Boykins was 170 centimeters tall so as not to feel shame in the competition. As with the rest of the heroes of this publication, Earl did not even think about quitting basketball and looking for himself in another area. He did not miss a single training, not a single summer training camp, and as a result he significantly improved his skill in the game.
In 1999, the Cleveland offered Boykins a ten-day contract. During this time, the guy managed to show his basketball worthiness and amaze everyone with his game. Then a second short-term contract was launched, then a third, and as a result, the short man played the whole season. In 2002, he signed a contract with Golden State, where he revealed himself as a player in full. However, Earl Boykins' most notable career years were at Denver and Pistons. As part of the latter in 2012, he scored 32 points per game, setting a record (30+ points) among basketball players below 180 centimeters. In the same year, the legendary Earl announced his retirement.
2nd position. Slater Martin: seven-time all-star player
This basketball player is a true legend who played in the fifties of the last century. He was the son of a Texas station ranger, a World War II soldier, and the main point guard for two well-known basketball teams, the Lakers and the Hawks. In 1982, Slater Martin was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Slater Martin - the most titled shorty
Slater Martin is the lowest NBA player who has the most titles and awards. The height of a basketball player is 178 centimeters. In 1949, he set a student league record with 49 points per game. The following year he was signed to the Minneapolis Lakers, where Slater was a key player in bringing sniper shells - George Myken and Jim Pollard. This tandem four times led his team to victories in the NBA.
For seven consecutive years, Martin Slater performed at all-star matches. He was the first NBA smallest basketball player to manage this event. Slater was a very fast and dynamic player, it was impossible to keep up with him. In 2012, Martin died at the age of 86.
1st position. The smallest NBA basketball player - Maxi Bogs, nicknamed the "thief", height 160 centimeters.
So we got to the most interesting. Maxi Bogs is the lowest basketball player in the history of the National Basketball Association. Basketball fans gave him the nickname "thief," because Bogs is phenomenally playing in the selection. Due to its speed and low growth, it is a real thunderstorm for high basketball players. Maxi can pick up the ball from two-meter guys from any position, many of them admitted that when a “thief” comes to you, it’s scary to hit the ball on the floor, because there it is.
In his first NBA season (1987/1988), Maxi met with the highest basketball player at that time, Manute Ball (231 cm) - a teammate from the Washington Bullets. Fate decreed that one team has the highest NBA basketball player and the lowest. In a debut match against the Lakers, Maxi Bogs defended his team's basket against Magic Johnson, whose growth was 206 centimeters. “Magic Johnson just started the first attack, as I immediately took the ball away from him and ran to score in another ring. When he hit the ball on the floor - I again intercepted and robbed. My basketball career is a permanent ruin of stereotypes, ”the lowest NBA basketball player in history told in an interview.
Maxi Bogs - "battery" for the "hornets"
The main thief spent the game years as part of Charlotte, where he played ten seasons in total and became a true legend of the club and the National Basketball Association. Thanks to the energy of this short guy, the motivation and productivity of other club players increased. Maxi was the "battery" for the "hornets", he fed the mood of everyone, without exception. In total, Bogs put 39 block shots during his career, the most popular of which was against Patrick Ewing (height 213 centimeters).
If you are the lowest NBA basketball player, and you also play great, you can’t escape fame and a media career. Maxi Bogs repeatedly starred in various Hollywood films, where he mostly played himself - the shortest basketball player in the world. An example is the movie "Space Jam."