“Can I Be Taller Than Muggsy?”: Stephen Curry Vouches for 5’3 Legend over Victor Wembanyama When Asked About Who’s a Greater Outlier

Victor Wembanyama and Tyrone Muggsy Bogues are unique examples of exceptional talents joining the NBA. What makes them unique is their height differential from the rest of the league. While Wemby is among the tallest players drafted in the NBA ever, Muggsy is known for being the shortest player to ever play in the league.

Muggsy Bogues played almost ten seasons with the Charlotte Hornets alongside Stephen Curry’s father, Dell Curry. Growing up, watching Muggsy was an enriching experience for Steph to hone his basketball skills.

Therefore, when a reporter asked Steph to choose the bigger outlier between Wemby and Muggsy, during an NBC Sports Bay Area interview recently, Steph chose the latter without any hesitation. Here is an excerpt of the story, uploaded by Dalton Johnson on Twitter (now X).

Explaining his reasoning, Curry said how he was beyond impressed watching Muggsy dominate on the court at his size and strike fear into his opponents. Curry also talked about the Muggsy rule, “If you can’t see him, don’t put the ball on the ground because he’s probably underneath you waiting for it.” 

While Steph does praise Wembanyama’s genetics for his height, he reiterated how the league will never see a 5’3″ player again competiting on the court. Growing up, Steph himself wasn’t exactly the perfect fit for the NBA in terms of his physique and height. However, Muggsy was an inspiration for the 4x NBA champion to shoot his shot for the league.

Revealing this to the reporter, Curry praised Muggsy and said, “I’m just grateful that looking back, I got to watch [Muggsy] up close and personal…because back then, all I wanted to do was be taller than him. Then I thought I had a shot at the league; that was the marker.”

“It didn’t matter how good I could shoot. It was just, can I be taller than Muggsy, and then I’ll be all right,” Curry added.

Bogues was extremely touched and moved by Stephen Curry’s kind words about him to the press. Giving his flowers to the 2x MVP, Muggsy quoted the report on Steph’s praise and wrote, “Appreciate the love young fella @StephenCurry30. You can do anything you want to do #heartoverheight”

Stephen Curry and Muggsy Bogues had a pre-existing relationship through Dell Curry

Dell Curry and Tyrone Muggsy Bogues were teammates as mentioned before. This meant that a young Stephen Curry had already established a bonding with Muggsy while growing up in Charlotte and Toronto.

Given his close bond with Dell Curry and young Steph, Muggsy had become a part of the Curry family. As a child, Steph would often get baffled seeing a short player like Muggsy Bogues compete with bigger guys. Curry fondly remembers Muggsy picking him up in the locker room and running with him around like an airplane.

Once speaking to Rex Chapman, Muggsy Bogues also revealed how often many Universities and NBA teams were reluctant to trust Stephen Curry for his small stature and skinny figure. Much of the credit for Curry becoming the greatest shooter ever could easily go to Muggsy, a player who inspired him to overcome every possible difficulty to become the best version of himself.