Height Isn’t As Important As Heart by Max H.

 Height Isn’t As Important As Heart

When I first learned about the NBA, I assumed that all of the players were huge. I mean, most basketball players are pretty tall, right? Well, this was far from the truth, as I would soon learn that there were plenty of short NBA players. One of these players was especially short, seeing as how I was the same height as him when I was in the 6th grade! My stepdad gave me a basketball card that had the name “Muggsy Bogues” on it. I immediately had two questions in mind:” How tall is this dude and is his name actually Muggsy?”. 

It turns out that his real name is Tyrone Curtis Bogues, and that he stood at an astonishing 5’3” (Muggsy Bogues)! When I found this out I didn’t believe it, as I was still focused on the assumption that all NBA players were at least 6 feet tall ( I was far off with that).

2010 NBA point guard stars mostly all stand at 6 feet at least:

- Damian Lillard -Russell Westbrook

-Steph Curry -Chris Paul (Surprisingly)

 Even 6 foot was a standard for point guards that played with Muggsy:

-John Stockton- -Mark Jackson

-Isiah Thomas -Gary Payton

You may assume that Muggsy was probably condemned to a short career that consisted of him struggling against bigger competition. On the contrary, Bogues was an amazing ball distributor and a tight ball defender. One stat that I found quite impressive is that he is second ALL TIME in games with 10+ assists and 0 turnovers (“The Guardian”). This shows how much of an excellent point guard he was, as he was able to get the ball to his teammates at an efficient rate. 

He was able to average at least eight assists per game for 6 seasons of his 14-season career (“Basketball reference”). He also racked up over a steal per game for 12 of those 14 seasons, averaging 2.1 per game in the 91’-92’ season (“Basketball Reference”). Somehow, Muggsy was able to record 39 blocks in the span of his career (“Basketball reference”)!

After I learned about Muggsy’s greatness, I hoped that he was able to be successful in his career (in the aspects of championships and all-star game appearances). I was disappointed to find that he wasn’t able to win a ring or make an all-star game. As I got older and got to understand the game even more, I realized that Muggsy may have possibly been one of the courageous players to ever step foot on the court. 

Whenever you look at Muggsy Bogues compared to other players at the time, it was obvious that he played with a chip on his shoulder. He was very popular, but this was because of the fact that he was 5”3’. Even though he didn’t have any glorious success in his career, Muggsy can rest knowing that he gave it his all every game. In all honesty, I believe that longevity and effort are the two main keys to heart. Bogues showed both of these qualities, and he had the biggest heart that any NBA player has ever had.