Given the nature of basketball, height has usually been a significant factor in determining the chances of a player succeeding at the top level and a good number of NBA superstars, both past and present, have dominated the court with their height and reach.
However, there have been outliers who managed to make it to the league despite being relatively undersized. These shorter players have proven that skill, speed, intelligence and grit can sometimes outshine physical size in the game’s highest competition.
Isiah Thomas, drafted second overall in 1981 by the Detroit Pistons, stood at 6-foot-1 but led the franchise to back-to-back NBA titles between 1989 and 1990, while being named Finals MVP in 1990 and finishing his illustrious career as a 12-time All-Star.
Like Thomas, there have been several other short players to leave their mark on the league, including Spud Webb and Calvin Murphy; the former managed to win the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest despite being the third-shortest player to grace the NBA at 5-foot-6, while the latter made the 1979 All-Star team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame 14 years later.
Over the years, there have been 27 players with listed heights of 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) or shorter.
Below, Sports Mole takes a look at the shortest player currently in the league as well as in history.
WHO IS THE SHORTEST NBA PLAYER?
Standing at 5-foot-8, Japanese guard Yuki Kawamura is the shortest player to have featured in the 2024-25 season.
After catching the eye in the 2024 Olympics with the Japanese national team, Kawamura signed with the Grizzlies on a training camp deal which eventually got converted to a two-way contract in October. He then signed a two-way contract with the Bulls for the 2025 Summer League.
Kawamura took over the record from former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jacob Gilyard, who measured at 5-foot-8 with a 5-foot-10 wingspan. Gilyard featured for the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers before leaving the league back in February 2025.
WHO IS THE SHORTEST NBA PLAYER EVER?
While there have been nine players who measured 5-foot-7 and below in NBA history, the record for the shortest player to play in the league is held by Muggsy Bogues, who stood at 5-foot-3.
Drafted as the 12th overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets (now Washington Wizards), Bogues enjoyed a 14-season career, featuring for the Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, and the Toronto Raptors.
Despite his height disadvantage, Bogues scored a career-high 24 points and recorded 19 assists on three occasions while finishing his NBA career with 39 blocks, most notably one on 7-foot Patrick Ewing in a game between the Hornets and New York Knicks in April 1993.
Ten shortest players in NBA history
1. Muggsy Bogues — 5'3"
2. Earl Boykins — 5'5"
3. Spud Webb — 5'6"
= Mel Hirsch — 5'6"
= Greg Grant — 5'6"
6. Keith Jennings — 5'7"
= Red Klotz — 5'7"
= Wat Misaka — 5'7"
= Markquis Nowell — 5'7"
= Monte Towe — 5'7"
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