One of the most common stereotypes when it comes to NBA players is that they have to be tall in order to be good at the game. Even though physique is very important in the league, especially the height, there are a handful of shorter players that had great careers totaling a huge number of points and assists.
Short players are usually faster due to the lack of mass, which means they are great for playmakers and sneaking through the defense and making an assist. If we look through statistics, we can see that the average height of an NBA player in 2020 was 6’6”, which is the lowest over the past 40 years.
This means that teams are more interested in skills and abilities rather than tall and powerful players.
With that said, we decided to highlight some of the shortest players that made a name for themselves in the NBA.
Chris Paul
One of the best point guards playing for the Los Angeles Clippers a few years ago is also only 6’0” tall with shoes. Chris is now in the last years of his career playing for the Phoenix Suns, currently challenging for the NBA Championship. Despite his height, he is not afraid to make a clutch jump or tackle some of the big boys on the court.
Since he is short for an NBA player, he is the main distributor in the team. He is quick enough to steam through the defense and make a smart pass, which proves his usefulness on the court.
Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson is probably the most iconic player that ever played in the NBA. He too is a short player listed at 6’0” with shoes, but despite his height, he still managed to make a name for himself thanks to his speed and scoring ability.
He proved that even a short player can have an extremely successful career being four-time NBA scoring champion, 11-time All-Star, and 2001 MVP.
Most short NBA players are focusing on other abilities just to compensate for their height. When it comes to Iverson, he put in all the work in order to master his shooting abilities and speed.
Nate Robinson
Here we have another NBA player with a very successful career that is even shorter than Paul and Iverson. Nate’s official height is 5’9”, but make no mistake he still has impressive above-the-rim capabilities, and he even became the Sprite Slam Dunk champion back in 2006, 2009, and 2010.
He managed to overjump some of the tallest players in the league, which proves that shorter players can have outstanding performance when it comes to reaching higher.
Throughout his career, he changed his jersey quite a few times. We were playing for the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City, the Golden State Warriors, and now in his late career, he plays for Homenetmen Beirut.
Michael Adams
Here we have a retired NBA legend that made a name for himself, despite his height of 5’10”. His professional career lasted from 1985-1996 which started at a slow pace in the Sacramento Kings, after exploding in the 90-91 season, averaging out more than 26 points per match.
The same year, he was traded to the Washington Bullets and secured a spot in the All-Star selection. Ha managed to have a successful NBA career with 9,621 points and 4,209 steals, which is respectable for an NBA player of any size.
Adams was known for his “push shot” which was very accurate, and once held the record of 79 consecutive games with a 3-point field goal, after being overtaken by Stephen Curry.
Final Words
These are some of the shortest players that ever played in the NBA, and despite their size, they still managed to make a successful career.
In case you are wondering, Muggsy Bogues was the shortest player in NBA history (5ft 3in) and he was part of the USA team that won the gold medal in the Olympic Games 1986 in Barcelona.
Check out the complete list of shortest players in NBA history here: https://edge.twinspires.com/nba/top-10-shortest-players-in-nba-history/
Even though the NBA is a contact sport where your height can give you an advantage, it isn’t something that is necessary for success.
