Basketball is a game where height beats the opponent, often on the court. However, it seems the fundamentals of the game are not deemed suitable for the Memphis Grizzlies as they keep challenging them. Recently, they signed Armando Bacot, Yuki Kawamura, Miye Oni and Maozinha Pereira. All of these new recruits for the Grizzlies are above 6 feet in stature, but one. Yuki Kawamura is an exception in that department as he might be the shortest NBA player currently! Bacot’s height is about 6’11”, Miye Oni stands at 6’4″, while Maozinha hails 6’8″ on a vertical scale.

Surprisingly, Kawamura’s height is 5 feet 6 inches. But don’t get fooled by his stature. He annihilated the Finnish defence during the FIBA World Cup 2023 while facing All-Star Lauri Markkanen. He put up 25 points and 9 assists performance there for his Japanese crowd. It even impressed NBA veteran Isaiah Thomas, who stands at 5’9″. “He was killing!! I see you killa. Us small guards gotta stick together!!” Thomas posted then sharing clips of Kawamura balling on X. It was an upset victory over Finland, for Japan.

Coming to the recent accolades, the Japanese cleared the qualifiers but couldn’t get past the bigwigs in the pool games. After a blowout loss against Germany, Yuki Kawamura and Akatsuki Japan almost missed an upset over France. Yeah, you heard it right! The Japanese team was about to defeat the Paris Olympics finalists as they lost only by a margin of 4 points. Against such an elite team, Yuki Kawamura racked up 29 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. So, height might not be a big issue for the Japanese guard when it comes to the NBA.

However, Kawamura is not the only short player that the Memphis Grizzlies hold. The shortest NBA player before the 23-year-old was also there at the Grizzlies!

The shortest NBA Player: a small man casting a large shadow

For now, Yuki Kawamura and Jacob Gilyard are tied for the shortest NBA player title. He played for two teams during the 2023-24 season. The major chunk of the previous season he spent at the Memphis Grizzlies playing for 37 games. Appearing in only 41 games, the rest of the 4 games he played for the Brooklyn Nets. Whatever time he spent at Grizzlies, he averaged 4.7 points, 1.2 boards and 3.5 assists. However, he is not as good as Kawamura on the court and is not under any league contract this summer.
The second on the list of current shortest NBA players is Phoenix Suns point guard Isaiah Thomas, who praised Kawamura after his 2023 FIBA World Cup performance. As mentioned above, Isaiah is 5’9″. The ex-Celtics took the league by storm during his prime, earning the moniker “King in the Fourth.” However, as the list goes on, the number of candidates increases on the 6 feet mark.

KJ Simpson (Hornets), Chris Paul (Warriors), Fred VanVleet and Aaron Holiday (Rockets) hit the 6′ mark on the height scale. Also, apart from these names, prominent names like Mike Conley and Jordan McLaughlin from the Minnesota Timberwolves are also part of the same height group. Jose Alvarado, Kyle Lowry (76ers), Jamal Shead, and Xavier Moon are other additions to the list. However, these are not the all-time shortest NBA players if you might be wondering their rank on an all-time scale. Well, we’ve got it for you.

The shortest NBA Players of all time to bless the court

There have been NBA players who were even shorter than the present shortest NBA player, Yuki Kawamura. Yes, and they played seasons in the NBA, standing at 5’7″ or shorter than that. Let’s get to the list of players who were shorter than or equal to the 5’7″ mark in NBA history.

Muggsy Bogues was a legend who was a 12th overall pick during the 1987 draft class. The Washington Bullets picked him up from the draft. He averaged 7.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists during his professional career in the league. Most of his career was spent at the Charlotte Hornets, as he averaged a career-high during his association with the organization for 10 seasons. He scored 8.8 points and 8.8 assists per game with the Hornets.

Before Bogues, Mel Hirsh held the title of the shortest NBA player. And the crown stayed on Hirsh’s head for almost 40 years until Bogues entered the scene. However, Hirsh could not play as long as Bogues spent time in the league. Hirsh only played 13 games with the Boston Celtics during the 1946-47 season.

Another prominent NBA small baller is Spud Webb. He is hailed as one of the game’s shortest players and most exhilarating dunkers. The ex-Hawks player clinched the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest title at 5-foot-6. His stint at the NBA was also long, playing for teams like Sacramento Kings, Hawks, Wolves, and Orlando throughout 12 NBA seasons.

Wat Misaka, who did not even have the height, standing at 5’7″, was a pioneer in breaking the colour barrier. He was the first black player in the Basketball Association of America(now known as NBA).

Overall, it can be concluded the shortest NBA players created some marvellous miracles in the league with their performance and skills. Breaking the norms, they stirred the established foundations and made their identity. The same might be the reason Yuki Kawamura has entered the league. As he said to BasketCount when he was 16 years old, “I want to challenge the world.“