“Muggsy” Bogues, the little big man
The Americans set the limit at 6 feet (1.83 m). Everything below is small. So what can we say about Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues? The micro-leader who went through Washington (12th pick in the 1987 draft), Charlotte, Golden State and Toronto is a Lilliputian in the kingdom of Gullivers. How much is that, doctor, 5.3 feet? 1.60 m.
Alain Giresse, a member of the magic square of the French team in the 80s, exceeds it by 3 centimeters. Ditto Mathieu Valbuena and Marco Verratti. 1.60 m is also 8 centimeters less than Spud Webbdescribed as a “splendid dwarf” when he won the slam dunk in 1986. That’s 71 centimeters shorter than the late Sudanese Manute Bolthe biggest NBA player (by size…) in the first half of the 90s. It’s just that we don’t measure talent by the yardstick, but by the heart. And Tyrone Bogus is huge.
“Tyrone is my toughest opponent”confided very seriously Kevin McHale, the former strong wing player (2.08 m) of the Celtics and the former coach of the Rockets.
Does Bogues have a secret? Yes: an explosive cocktail of will, speed and muscle. Fast and aerodynamic as a bullet, Muggsi is unstoppable. His hand speed and incredibly low center of gravity are a nightmare for any point guard to defend against. Apparently, Muggsy has always been small. He learned very early to compensate for his handicap.
“Very quickly I realized that I will not exceed the height of one meter and sixty. My mother is 1.48 m tall and my father is 1.66 m tall. I also have a brother who is 1.68 m tall. He is the giant in the family! I have always been satisfied with my height, I never wanted to be taller. I am not to blame for anyone. Not even God.
The truth is that with his experience, Bogues has no reason to blame nature. The business card is well filled out, thank you for it. He was named the MVP at Dunbar High School in Baltimore in 1983 ahead of future pros like David Wingate, Reggie Williams and especially Reggie Lewis. That year, his high school was unofficially named the state champion after finishing a 31-0 season (29-0 the previous year).
The legend continued at Wake Forest, his alma mater, where he earned the nickname “The Human Helper.” In his senior year, he averaged 14.8 points, 9.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals. He was even selected to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Team. His college records for assists and steals are greater than those of Michael Jordan or Mark Price. Wake Forest will honor him by retiring his No. 14 jersey.
World champion against Drazen Petrovic
The legend of Magsi crossed the Atlantic in 1986. In Spain, he won the world title with the USA. In Europe, it is nicknamed “electric battery”. The sparks that his game produces on the Croat Drazen Petrović or the Russian Valdemaras Khomitchus, that’s fireworks in itself. Enough to be respected forever. If you doubt Bowes’ size, listen to his Wake Forest teammate Ralph Kitley (2.10m): “He’s so strong that sometimes I feel like he’s looking down on me.”.
The Washington Bullets therefore selected him 12th overall in the 1987 draft. He worked together with Manute Bol during his first year. Together they will pose for the covers of three magazines. It wasn’t the Bullets’ mistake to protect him. The result: The following year, the Charlotte Hornets, who appeared on the NBA map at the same time as the Miami Heat, scooped up the “Little Big Man” during the expansion draft. In 1990, Frelons fans voted him the team’s MVP (9.4 ppg and 10.7 ppg). Its popularity continues to grow. Live up to your talent. Tyrone receives more than 200 letters a week asking for photos, autographs and even inspirational advice on how to succeed.
In the 1993-94 season, he again exceeded the average of 10 assists (10.1 plus 10.8 points). Lies are anything but a trick. We don’t ask him to attack the basket. At 3 points, that’s not it either. His thing is passing and intercepting, playing with energy. Tyrone is an example that applies to the whole team. For their fourth season in the League, 1991-92, the Hornets were in the playoff race by mid-March. Beginner Larry Johnson he seems to carry a five at arm’s length. But Charlotte was limping when Bogus injured his ankle. His teammate Kendall Gill paid tribute to him: “We were orphans. When Tyrone is there and we see him applying pressure everywhere on the pitch, we only want one thing: to imitate him. He alone pulls the team to the top.”
A little ball of nerves and muscles is a leader in spirit, but also in form. “When I arrived, we wanted to apply ourselves, but things went a little bit in all directions. I picked up the ball and after the first pass it was nonsense. Now it’s a real team. I can organize the game in the best way. No more selfishness. We don’t care who will score, only victory counts.”
North Carolina was the original home of Michael Jordan. In the early 90s, it became the state of Muggsi. “Little Big Man” who accomplished the feat of 39 shutouts during his professional career, including Patrick Ewing on April 14, 1993.
“It’s impossible to go unnoticed wherever I go. Sometimes it’s restrictive, but I’m not going to complain, so many people would love to be in my shoes.”
Born in Baltimore, he became the idol of kids who wore his jersey all over the United States. A real comic book character. He never averaged more than 11.2 points in a season, but his size puts him closer to the kids. His exploits in the realm of the great make them dream.
“When I was a kid, there were no local heroes in my neighborhood. Here, I’m a little local star. All the kids from the neighborhood come to greet me, they play with my kids. They feel close to me, it gives them confidence, they have hope to achieve something big later. Differences – size, skin color, religion, don’t matter anymore to their social level. This doesn’t matter anymore than my social level.
At the Hornets with the Mourning-Johnson duo
With Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson on the front line and Muggy Bogus at the helm, this Charlotte team, which enjoys immense popularity in the United States and abroad, aims to become the franchise of the 90s. We know what happened. The 1997-98 season had barely begun when the Elf was traded to the Warriors with Tony Delk in exchange for BJ Armstrong. Among the Hornets, Bogus will remain number 1 in passes and interceptions. On the other hand, his two records for assists in a game (19 in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs) were obliterated by Chris Paul, another former Wake Forest player, in November 2007 and April 2008 against the Mavs.
His NBA career ended on a bit of a shaky note. After two seasons in Oakland where he dropped to 5 points, he spent two seasons in Toronto, then went through New York and Dallas without putting on a uniform. His greatness will follow him for a long time. Bogus is the smallest player to ever play in the League since Earl Boykins was 1.65m tall.
When he was appointed head coach of the Charlotte Sting, a defunct WNBA team, in April 2005, he still had to hold his head up: the smallest player in the group, Helen Darling, measured 1.70 m…
Seen in “Space Jam” (1996) where aliens stole the talent of five NBA basketball players (Larry Johnson, Barkley, Ewing, Sean Bradley and thus himself), Tyrone first coached at United Faith Christian Academy High School. In Charlotte, of course, where Michael Jordan made him an ambassador for his franchise in 2014 when the Hornets erased the Bobcats from memory. Since then, we have seen him on the sidelines from time to time, like in January 2020, in Paris at the meeting between the Bucks and the Hornets. On his side, two legends: Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
2026-01-09 17:41:00
