Muggsy Bogues

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tyronne Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American retired professional basketball point guard and former head coach of the now-defunct Charlotte Sting of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). He played for four teams during his 14-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but is best known for his stint with the Charlotte Hornets. He is the shortest person ever to play in the NBA, standing 5'3" (1.60 m) and weighing 136 pounds (62 kg). He played for the Washington Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors. He also was part of the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, but never played a game for either team.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 High school and college 1.2 NBA 1.2.1 Charlotte Hornets 1.2.2 Last years 1.3 Life after the NBA 2 Trivia 3 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] High school and college

Bogues played at Dunbar High School in his native Baltimore, where he was a teammate of future NBA players David Wingate (graduating class ahead of him), Reggie Williams, and Reggie Lewis (both in his graduating class). He went on to play four years at Wake Forest, averaging 11.3 points, 8.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game in his junior year. He followed with a senior campaign in which he averaged 14.8 points, 9.5 assists, and 3.9 steals per game. He also averaged 3.8 rebounds per contest, remarkable because generally much taller players dominate that statistic.

[edit] NBA

Bogues was drafted twelfth overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets, and was part of a talent-laden draft class that also included David Robinson, Reggie Miller, Scottie Pippen and Kevin Johnson. In his rookie year, Bogues was a teammate of 7'7" (2.31 m) Manute Bol, at the time the tallest player to have ever played in the NBA. Bol and Bogues appeared on at least one magazine cover together.

[edit] Charlotte Hornets

The Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets were set to enter the NBA for the 1988-89 NBA season. Despite their weakness at the point guard position, Bogues was left unprotected by the Bullets. On June 22, 1988 the Hornets selected him in the expansion draft. As Bogues settled in Charlotte, he established himself as an exceptional passer and a great ball-stealer. His size also helped him to be one of the fastest players on the court.

Bogues spent ten years in Charlotte as the Hornets, led by Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson, became one of the most popular teams in the NBA and a perennial playoff contender. Charlotte Hornets replica jerseys, including Bogues', were worn by children all over United States and even in Australia. Bogues was one of the most popular players in Hornets history, despite the fact that he never averaged more than 11.2 points per game in a season.

[edit] Last years

Two games into the 1997-98 NBA season, Bogues' Hornets career ended when he was traded, along with Tony Delk, to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for B.J. Armstrong. Bogues played two seasons with the Warriors, and then signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors, where he would essentially conclude his career. Although he was later traded to the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, he did not play a single game for either franchise.

[edit] Life after the NBA

Since leaving the NBA, Bogues worked in the real estate business until August 3, 2005, when he was named head coach of the Charlotte Sting in the Women's National Basketball Association despite a lack of coaching experience. He lost his job as coach when the team folded in January 2007.

[edit] Trivia

• In 1996, Bogues managed to block a shot attempt by 7'0" (2.13 m) NBA center Patrick Ewing. [1]
• Bogues made a cameo appearance in TV series Curb Your Enthusiasm playing himself, sharing a restroom with Larry David and Richard Lewis and nearly having an altercation with David after catching them looking at his penis while urinating.
• In 1996, Bogues has a cameo at the end of Eddie in which Whoopi Goldberg's character flirts with him. He then walks out onto the court to support her character preventing Wild Bill from moving the Knicks.
• In 1996, Bogues appeared in the movie Space Jam as one of five NBA players whose playing ability is stolen by the evil Monstars. Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Larry Johnson and Patrick Ewing are the other four.
• At 5'3", Bogues is the same height as the shortest WNBA basketball players, Debbie Black and Temeka Johnson.
• The shortest member of the team he coached, the Charlotte Sting, was Helen Darling who stands 5'6".
• Charlotte Hornets Career Leader in Minutes Played (19,768), Assists (5,557), Steals (1,067) and Turnovers (1,118).
• Charlotte Hornets Career Leader in Assists per Game (8.7927).
• Charlotte Hornets Career Leader in Assists per 48 Minutes (13.4933).

[edit] External links

• Muggsy Bogues Statistics @ BasketballReference.com
• WNBA Press Release of Bogues becoming Head Coach of the Charlotte Sting
• NBA.com Profile

Preceded by Trudi Lucey

Charlotte Sting Head Coach 2005–2007

Succeeded by Nobody (franchise folded)