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The Shortest NBA Players Ever: Currently & Throughout History

In a world of 7-foot freaks of nature, these little guys have beaten the odds.

Nate Robinson, Isaiah Thomas and more of the shortest players in NBA history
Credit-AP/Getty/Joker Mag Illustration

From youth leagues to the NBA, basketball has always been a game of height. But, over the years, there have been exceptions – short players who reached the top of the basketball world.

Despite what critics said, they’ve risen to the top of of the sport. But defying the doubters wasn’t easy.

Here is a definitive list of the shortest NBA players – now and throughout basketball history – along with their individual stories of how they made it happen.

Who Is The Shortest NBA Player Right Now?

At 5'8", Yuki Kawamura is the shortest active NBA player.

Listed at 5’8″, Yuki Kawamura is the shortest active NBA player in 2025.

The Japanese point guard led his high school to back-to-back championships before becoming the youngest player in the history of the B.League – a relatively new pro league in Japan.

After four years there, he signed a two-way NBA contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Growing up, he idolized 5’6″ Yuki Togashi, who had his own stint in the NBA before an accolade-filled career in Asia.

According to Stathead, Kawamura is the only current player listed under 6 feet tall. He’s followed by 6’0″ players like Mike Conley, Jose Alvarado, and Kyle Lowry.

As of February 4th, 2025, the 5’9″ veteran Isaiah Thomas is still waiting in the wings in the G League. If he’s called up to the NBA again, Kawamura would have company in the under-6 feet club.

Who is The Shortest NBA Player Ever?

At 5'3", Muggsy Boguesis the shortest NBA payer ever.

At 5’3″ and 136 pounds, Muggsy Bogues is the shortest and smallest NBA player of all time.

Growing up playing pick-up games in the Lafayette projects of Baltimore, he either got picked last or not at all.

But when Bogues got on the court, he was an aggressive defender – wreaking havoc on the opposition.

Over time, he molded himself into a star player for Dunbar High School – the #1 team in the nation – and later landed a scholarship to Wake Forest. After a stellar college career, Washington selected him 12th overall in 1987.

Bogues was also teammates with Manute Bol, the 2nd tallest player in NBA history. There was an astounding 28-inch difference in height between them!

Smallest NBA Players of All-Time

Earl Boykins – 5’5″, 135 pounds

Earl Boykins quote: "For a small player to make it, he has to work twice as hard. If you have the talent and motivation to work at it, you can make it."

When he was three years old, Earl Boykin’s dad would sneak him into their local rec center in his gym bag to save the entry fee.

Boykins learned to dribble with a tennis ball because his hands were too small for anything else.

Iowa and Eastern Michigan were the only Division 1 programs to offer the 5’5″ point guard a scholarship – and Iowa later withdrew its offer.

After going undrafted in 1998, Boykins spent the better part of two decades in the NBA. He was known for his scoring ability and extraordinary strength – bench pressing over 300 pounds, more than double his body weight.

READ MORE: How 5’5″ Earl Boykins Went From Sneaking Into Gyms In A Duffel Bag To Scoring 5,791 Points In The NBA

Mel Hirsch – 5’6″, 165 pounds

5'6" Mel Hirsch pictured during his pro basketball career.

Mel Hirsch graduated from Brooklyn College in 1943. He served in the US Army Air Corps as a Navigator in the South Pacific, where he played on the squadron’s officer’s basketball team.

After his time in the military, he played 13 games for the Boston Celtics of the Basketball Association of America, which later became the NBA.

He was the shortest player in professional basketball history until Muggsy Bogues arrived in 1987.

RELATED: The Shortest MLB Players: Now & Throughout Baseball History

Greg Grant – 5’7″, 140 pounds

Greg Grant quote: “I was being drafted from a Division III school at a time when they just cut the draft from six or seven rounds down to two. So to be one of 54 players drafted and being from a Division III school was probably the biggest achievement of that draft.”

Greg Grant worked in a fish market through high school.

After dropping out of Morris Brown College, the 5’7″ point guard enrolled at Trenton State in 1986. He was a big fish in a small pond, leading all of Division III in scoring in 1989.

Drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 52nd overall pick, Grant is one of the only D3 players ever selected in the NBA Draft.

After nine years in the NBA, he wrote an autobiography called 94 Feet and Rising: The Journey of Greg Grant to the NBA and Beyond.

“[I] just want to allow the kids in my hometown to get the message that if you really put your mind to something you can do what you want to do.”

Red Klotz – 5’7″, 150 pounds

Red Klotz on the Generals’ 1971 win over the Harlem Globetrotters: “They looked at us like we killed Santa Claus.”

This Philly native left Villanova to serve his country in World War II.

After playing for a number of teams in the early days of pro basketball, Klotz played for the Baltimore Bullets in 1948. That season, he became the shortest player to ever win an NBA championship.

Over the course of his storied career, Klotz played in or coached more than 14,000 games in over 100 countries – including his time with the Washington Generals, the losingest team in history.

Wataru Misaka – 5’7″, 150 pounds

Quote from Wataru Misaka: “I never saw myself as any different from the guys I played with.”

Wataru Misaka grew up in poverty, living in the basement of his father’s barbershop in a bad area of downtown Ogden, Utah.

His mother made all of his clothes with a Singer sewing machine. “I don’t remember having a store-bought shirt until after I got out of high school,” Misaka told the New York Daily News.

Despite all this, the Japanese point guard broke the color barrier in professional basketball, becoming the first non-white and first Asian player to play in the NBA.

Misaka was also the first point guard ever drafted.

Keith Jennings – 5’7″, 160 pounds

5'7" Keith Jennings during his time in the nBA with the Warriors

At East Tennessee State, Jennings won the 1991 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the outstanding collegiate senior six feet tall and under.

That year he also led the NCAA in three-point field goals, shooting an astounding 59 percent.

After going undrafted, he signed with the Golden State Warriors where he spent four seasons. He later played professionally in Europe.

Monte Towe – 5’7″, 150 pounds

Monte Towe drives to the hoop
Credit-Raleigh News & Observer

Credited with inventing the alley-oop, Monte Towe was the starting point guard on North Carolina State’s 1974 championship squad.

At 5’7″, Towe was a spectacular two-sport athlete, helping the Wolfpack’s baseball team win the ACC Championship in 1974.

After college, he was selected in both the NBA and ABA Draft. The point guard played two seasons for the Denver Nuggets under Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown.

Spud Webb – 5’7″, 133 pounds

Spud Webb on winning the Dunk Contest at 5'7": “Everywhere I go, even today, people are talking about it.”

Drafted 87th overall in 1985, Spud Webb is known for being the shortest player to ever win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

Webb didn’t make the varsity team until his senior year when he earned all-state honors averaging 26 points per game.

With no Division 1 scholarship offers, he played ball at Midland Junior College. He later transferred to North Carolina State, where he played well enough to get NBA attention.

Dino Martin – 5’8″, 160 pounds

Dino Martin and the 1942 Georgetown Hoyas basketball team
Credit-Georgetown Hoyas

After a successful career at Georgetown, Dino Martin latched on with the Providence Steamrollers of the BAA (the NBA’s predecessor).

On January 9th, 1947, the 5’8″ guard became the first pro player to score 40 points in a game.

Charlie Criss – 5’8″, 165 pounds

Charlie Criss was a 5-foot-8-inch guard for the Atlanta Hawks
Credit-Atlanta Hawks

After winning MVP of the Continental Basketball Association, Charlie Criss spent eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.

Upon entering the league, he became both the NBA’s shortest active player and its oldest rookie (28-years-old).

Criss’ life motto is “No Excuses” – and he is a walking lesson in persistence and determination.

Willie Somerset – 5’8″, 170 pounds

Willie Somerset during his time playing ball for Duquesne University

Selected 56th overall out of Duquesne University, Willie Somerset played eight years of pro basketball.

The Sharon, PA native was named to the ABA All-Star team in 1968, when he ranked 3rd in free throw percentage and 5th in points per game.

In 1993, Somerset was named as the all-time pro basketball career scoring average leader (21.9 ppg) for players under 6 feet (NBA and ABA).

Angelo Musi – 5’9″, 145 pounds

Angelo Musi 1918 to 2009 graphic from Temple's Hall of Fame

Angelo Musi was a 5’9″ Temple University grad who played six seasons of professional basketball.

He helped the Philadelphia Warriors win the 1947 BAA Finals – averaging 9.4 points per game that season and scoring 19 points in Game 1 of the series.

A member of the Temple Hall of Fame, Musi also played baseball and “helped the Owls win the mythical state title, and twice batted over .300.”

Charlie Hoefer – 5’9″, 158 pounds

Charlie Hoefer played for the Boston Celtics
Credit-Boston Celtics

Charlie Hoefer graduated from Queens College before playing professionally with teams in the American Basketball League.

He took a break from basketball to serve in the Coast Guard in World War II. After being discharged, he returned to the hardwood for six more seasons.

Calvin Murphy – 5’9″, 165 pounds

Calvin Murphy is the shortest hall of famer in basketball history
Credit-NBA.com

According to the Basketball Hall of Fame, “Pound-for-pound and inch-for-inch nobody played with more heart than Calvin Murphy.”

The diminutive guard was known for his top-notch defense, particularly against bigger players.

Despite his stature, Murphy excelled in the NBA for 13 seasons. In 1993, he became the shortest player ever enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Nate Robinson – 5’9″, 180 pounds

Nate Robinson quote about his NBA career: “I know I'm filthy. I'm one of the greatest short guys to ever play the game.”

Nate Robinson was only 5’4″ as a high school freshman.

A three-sport athlete, Robinson originally went to Washington University on a football scholarship. But after his freshman year, he decided to concentrate on basketball.

In his 11-year NBA career, Robinson won three Slam Dunk Contests and took home the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award in 2005.

Chris Clemons – 5’9″, 180 pounds

Chris Clemons quote that says: “Always appreciate the small victories in life.”

At 5’9″, Chris Clemons is the shortest player to ever play in the NBA’s G League. Despite an impressive 44-inch vertical, he went undrafted in 2019.

Growing up idolizing Allen Iverson, Clemons developed a devastating crossover at a young age.

The diminutive point guard is 3rd on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list and possesses all the tools for a long professional career.

As the most recent addition, Clemons joins a growing list of small basketball players who’ve defied the odds and played at the sport’s highest level.

Isaiah Thomas – 5’9″, 185 pounds

A quote from Isaiah Thomas: "There are going to be a number of people all of the time telling you that you’re too small. They still tell me that, but I just make them eat their words.”

At 5’9″, 185 pounds, Isaiah Thomas is one of the shortest and smallest players in recent years. After being picked last in the 2011 NBA Draft, Thomas has played for 10 NBA teams in 11 years – including a stint in the NBA’s G League.

A 2-time All-Star with the Boston Celtics, Thomas has proven height does not equate to success on the court.

“There are going to be a number of people all of the time telling you that you’re too small,” Thomas told The Undefeated in 2017. “They still tell me that, but I just make them eat their words.”

More of the shortest NBA players:

  • Facundo Campazzo – 5’10” 195 pounds
  • Jordan McLaughlin – 5’11” 185 pounds
  • Chris Paul – 6’0″ 175 pounds
  • Ish Smith – 6’0″ 175 pounds
  • Jose Alvarado – 6’0″ 179 pounds
  • Aaron Holiday – 6’0″ 185 pounds
  • Patty Mills – 6’0″ 180 pounds
  • Trevor Hudgins – 6’0″ 180 pounds
  • Tyus Jones – 6’0″ 196 pounds
  • Kyle Lowry – 6’0″ 196 pounds

Like underdog stories? Join our free Underdog Newsletter for a monthly dose of the unsung heroes and overlooked stories in sports.

Check out more lists in this series:

Written By

Division III baseball alum (McDaniel College), founder of Joker Mag, and author of The Underdog Mentality: Sports Stories That Will Change How You See the Game (And Yourself). Since launching in November 2017, my stories have been featured on platforms such as FOX Sports, SB Nation, and The Sporting News, reaching over 1.5 million readers worldwide. The seed was planted way back in 7th grade when I got cut from the baseball team. Instead of giving up, I found hope and inspiration in stories of undersized athletes who defied expectations. I ultimately played baseball through college, earning Honorable Mention on the All-Centennial Conference team in my senior season. Today, my mission is simple: To share stories that give people the same feeling I felt when I was that undersized ballplayer searching for hope, inspiration, and evidence that my dream was possible. Like my mom always told me, you can do anything you set your mind to. Sometimes we just need a little extra push. And that’s why I’m so passionate about sharing these stories with the world.

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