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There are a handful of truly short players who've demonstrated it's possible to play in the league without being tall. Is there a material difference between 4

There are a handful of truly short players who've demonstrated it's possible to play in the league without being tall. Is there a material difference between 4'8" and 5'3" when your opponents are 6'11"+? At that point, probably not. Assuming a person is healthy, there's nothing that makes playing in the NBA literally impossible.

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
> Assuming a person is healthy, there's nothing that makes playing in the NBA literally impossible. Well no, but there's a reason that those short people made it to the NBA, they had other potential that got them there. Mugsy was incredibly fast. If it was all about heart we'd see an equal distribution, unless somehow being taller means you have more heart.
- diminoten 8y ago
  Mugsy was fast because he worked hard to be fast, not because he was born with "fastness".
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    So it was only one short guy who wanted it and a bunch of tall ones?
    - diminoten 8y ago
      One? No. There are other short players in the NBA.
      - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        You're right, there have been 25 guys 5'9" and under. There are 494 players in the opening day roster for 2018-2019. I guess the little guys just lack the desire to get in there.
        diminoten 8y ago
        Desire? No. Grit? Probably.
  - matchagaucho 8y ago
    The advantage in basketball frequently oscillates between big/slow and small/fast. The best teams always have a mix. Mugsy choose to capitalize on his "small and fast" talent. It's coaches who make the decision to augment teams with speed.
goatlover 8y ago
It's not impossible, it's just highly unlikely. Muggsy Bogues is the extreme outlier. Most NBA players in the history of the game are above average height, despite tons of shorter people having similar access to playing the sport.
- diminoten 8y ago
  It's predictive, just not enough to make decisions on. You're not saying we don't let anyone under 6' play basketball, are you?
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    No, they are saying that in all likelihood they don't the physical ability to play the game.
    - diminoten 8y ago
      All likelihood? Maybe. Literally possible/not? No.
  - goatlover 8y ago
    Of course not. I'm saying that being taller than average is an important physical attribute to playing in the NBA. Of course you have to practice/play enough to have the necessary skill level, and there are other factors that matter. If you're under 6', then those other factors need to make up for the height disadvantage.
    - diminoten 8y ago
      Sure, and I'm saying that those other factors aren't genetic.

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

> Assuming a person is healthy, there's nothing that makes playing in the NBA literally impossible. Well no, but there's a reason that those short people made it to the NBA, they had other potential that got them there. Mugsy was incredibly fast. If it was all about heart we'd see an equal distribution, unless somehow being taller means you have more heart.

diminoten 8y ago
Mugsy was fast because he worked hard to be fast, not because he was born with "fastness".
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  So it was only one short guy who wanted it and a bunch of tall ones?
  - diminoten 8y ago
    One? No. There are other short players in the NBA.
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      You're right, there have been 25 guys 5'9" and under. There are 494 players in the opening day roster for 2018-2019. I guess the little guys just lack the desire to get in there.
      - diminoten 8y ago
        Desire? No. Grit? Probably.
- matchagaucho 8y ago
  The advantage in basketball frequently oscillates between big/slow and small/fast. The best teams always have a mix. Mugsy choose to capitalize on his "small and fast" talent. It's coaches who make the decision to augment teams with speed.

goatlover 8y ago

It's not impossible, it's just highly unlikely. Muggsy Bogues is the extreme outlier. Most NBA players in the history of the game are above average height, despite tons of shorter people having similar access to playing the sport.

diminoten 8y ago
It's predictive, just not enough to make decisions on. You're not saying we don't let anyone under 6' play basketball, are you?
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  No, they are saying that in all likelihood they don't the physical ability to play the game.
  - diminoten 8y ago
    All likelihood? Maybe. Literally possible/not? No.
- goatlover 8y ago
  Of course not. I'm saying that being taller than average is an important physical attribute to playing in the NBA. Of course you have to practice/play enough to have the necessary skill level, and there are other factors that matter. If you're under 6', then those other factors need to make up for the height disadvantage.
  - diminoten 8y ago
    Sure, and I'm saying that those other factors aren't genetic.