Will ther ever be another 5'5 or under player in the league?

ChuckChilly · Post #1 » by **ChuckChilly** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 10:24 pm

Even with the league being more geared towards quick players now, height is still obsessed over. Will there ever be another Earl Boykins or Mugsy Bogues stature type player in the league?

Clipsz 4 Life · Post #2 » by **Tim Lehrbach** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 10:30 pm

Why not? Somebody good enough could come along.

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Sixteen · Post #3 » by **Sixteen** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 10:32 pm

He'd have to be incredibly strong, athletic, and confident now to be effective.

Kevin Johnson · Post #4 » by **Kevin Johnson** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:03 pm

Ramen Noodles wrote:He'd have to be incredibly strong, athletic, and confident now to be effective.

Now? You mean it's much harder to be under 5'5 and be in the league now?

I think it's the opposite. Now you are a lot time on the court where you see a 2-point guard lineup. I think eventually, teams will even start 2 point guards and you will see a lot of 3-guard lineups. And I don't see many guards with post-up skills--hell, I don't even see bigs with post up skills.

So if a little guy can be a floor general, shoot the long ball and stay in front of his man - he'll be in the NBA if he finds the right team initially. It's just that it's incredibly hard to find a guy 5'7 and under with elite skillsets and be athletic enough.

I mean a guy with Lebron's or Durant's skillset is not going to be in the NBA if he's under 5'7. If it was Chris Paul's on the other hand, he'd at least be a great role player or maybe even a starter. I mean Chris Paul even at Mugsy's height (5'3) would probably bring all the things Mugsy brought plus he'd be a much better shooter and still have that Napoleon complex.

Novocaine · Post #5 » by **Novocaine** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:14 pm

There's a larger pool of talent to recruit from, players just shoot so much better and it's harder to ball hawk because refs don't want hands on the dribbler's body. Players that size are even larger defensive liability than they used to be and nowadays every team knows that defense is first and foremost about contesting shots.

Maybe a Boykins with truly elite shooting could have a Boykins type of career but that's about it.

Egg Nog · Post #6 » by **Egg Nog** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:14 pm

The odds are overwhelmingly high that we see another player of this height before the league ceases to exist.

13th Man · Post #7 » by **13th Man** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:16 pm

Aquille Carr maybe? But he's 5'6.

will · Post #8 » by **will** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:17 pm

Will be tough though. Hope somebody does it.

Post #9 » by **Nolan** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:29 pm

If Isaiah Thomas and Nate Robinson can make it at 5'7ish I don't why a guy a few inches shorter could do what they're doing.

OvertimeNO · Post #10 » by **OvertimeNO** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:34 pm

Ramen Noodles wrote:He'd have to be incredibly strong, athletic, and confident now to be effective.

All the super-short players have been ridiculously strong and athletic. Earl Boykins (139lb) benched 315lb, for example. We've all seen vid of Spudd dunking. Apparently Muggsy could dunk too.

Kevin Johnson · Post #11 » by **Kevin Johnson** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:41 pm

OvertimeNO wrote:
Ramen Noodles wrote:He'd have to be incredibly strong, athletic, and confident now to be effective.

All the super-short players have been ridiculously strong and athletic. Earl Boykins (139lb) benched 315lb, for example. We've all seen vid of Spudd dunking. Apparently Muggsy could dunk too.

That reminded me of Jordan posting up Bogues. He really couldn't back down Muggsy who had such a low center of gravity and strong legs but the turnaround fadeaway was automatic. On the other hand, he could easily back down the 6'7 Reggie Miller.

D.Brasco · Post #12 » by **D.Brasco** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:42 pm

13th Man wrote:Aquille Carr maybe? But he's 5'6.

He's actually only 5'4.5" without shoes.

12footrim · Post #13 » by **12footrim** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:48 pm

Nolan wrote:If Isaiah Thomas and Nate Robinson can make it at 5'7ish I don't why a guy a few inches shorter could do what they're doing.

When I saw Nate Robinson and Ty Lawson on the court at the same time along with Randy Foye at SF WITH them the first time, I really knew this league had changed. Then you had 39 year old Derek Fisher playing SF at key minutes in the playoffs.

A 5-5 guy could certainly make it but it would have to be a special guy. I do think the talent level is far greater than when the past guys played, but the league is going a lot smaller too, especially on the perimeter. Evens it out some.

NuWarriors · Post #14 » by **NuWarriors** » Tue Jul 8, 2014 11:49 pm

Kiwi Gardner is a fun one to watch. He played for the SC Warriors in the D-League and will be on the GSW team for summer league. He's listed at 5' 7"... you should try to catch him in the summer league. Hoping he makes the league some day.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep6wyPrngh0[/youtube]

ChuckChilly · Post #15 » by **ChuckChilly** » Wed Jul 9, 2014 12:01 am

NuWarriors wrote:Kiwi Gardner is a fun one to watch. He played for the SC Warriors in the D-League and will be on the GSW team for summer league. He's listed at 5' 7"... you should try to catch him in the summer league. Hoping he makes the league some day.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep6wyPrngh0[/youtube]

I know those are highlights, but dude looks unstoppable out there.

ldnk · Post #16 » by **ldnk** » Wed Jul 9, 2014 12:09 am

On the part where the announcer says "that's the right call on the technical", how? Sure it's his own teammate, but because his teammate is an idiot he's supposed to release on top of him?

JoseRizal · Post #17 » by **JoseRizal** » Wed Jul 9, 2014 12:22 am

We need this guy:

DoubleLintendre · Post #18 » by **DoubleLintendre** » Wed Jul 9, 2014 12:22 am

If there was one once, there will be one again. Eventually over time all things that have been once before will happen another time, including scoring records, championships, emergence of GOATs caliber players.. everything you can think of.

By the numbers there should be another Muggsey eventually.

KI-DW-TT-AB · Post #19 » by **KI-DW-TT-AB** » Wed Jul 9, 2014 12:28 am

We're more likely to have a 5'5 player than a 7'5 player again.

flash22 · Post #20 » by **flash22** » Wed Jul 9, 2014 12:39 am

Yes, without a doubt. When people say ever they leave open any possibility.