Here’s the story of how one of the most popular point guards got his legendary nickname.
Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues was a fan favourite.
Fans loved that he was always the shortest player on the court (standing at 5-3) but made up for that lack of height with hustle, especially on defence.
Muggsy played his heart out on the defensive end every game. He got into players who were a foot (plus) taller than him and just irritated the heck out of them.
He had active hands and feet, and he used his quickness and awareness to frequently snatch the ball out of his opponent’s grasp.
With this ability, he was able to record a career-high 7 steals not once, but three times (1988, 1989 and 1994).
And, ironically, it’s his ability to steal the ball that got him the nickname “Muggsy” when he was a pre-adolescent.
On the Knuckleheads podcast, he told Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles the story of how his bullies -who were complaining about his annoying defence- gave him the nickname during a pick-up game.
“One of the kids in the big basketball court had to leave and so one of the kids said, ‘Hey, lil shrimp you want to play?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ But I remember these were the kids that used to make fun of me.
“So, I go over there and couldn’t wait to play against the kid and the first time he dribbled the basketball, I stole it from him then laid it up. He thought it was a fluke, so then he tried it again; I stole it from him again and gave it to my teammate. Then, the kid just stopped and said, ‘Man, you muggin everybody.’
“And at the same time, a show used to come on called the Bowery Boys and one of the kids -character’s- name was Muggsy and he was the smallest among his crowd, so they tied his name with me stealing the ball, and I’ve been Muggsy ever since I was 7 years old. So, that’s how I got the nickname.”
Muggsy Bogues continued to play with this same energy as a professional NBA player.
In 14 seasons in the league, he averaged 1.5 steals a game and was one of the best defenders.
He was also a dimer who had an eagle eye.
Despite the lack of height and ability to see over his defenders, Muggsy was still able to make plays like the best of them.
He averaged 10 or more assists twice in his career (1989-90 and 1993-94) and averaged 7.6 for his entire career.
Additionally, he dished out a career-high 19 assists three times (1989, 1993 and 1994).
So, that’s how this iconic persona was born.