Why was Boggs, who is only 1.6 meters tall and shorter than ordinary people, able to play in the NBA for 14 years?
As we all know, basketball is a sport that relies heavily on physical talent, after all, the closer you are to the basket, the easier it is to score. The same is true in the NBA, the NBA is not lacking in talent, they fly away, have excellent physical fitness, often stage various anti-sky operations, and their height is generally about 1.9 meters, after all, even Iverson is a top guard, 183 height in the NBA is also known as a short guard, it is not easy to play, we are more familiar with a short man is Thomas, 175 height once played a brilliant performance in the 16-17 season, known as the "king of the end" Thomas's height is a relatively normal height for us ordinary people.
However, in the NBA, there is another player, his name is Tini Boggs, nicknamed "Little Worm", only 1.6 meters tall, more ordinary than ordinary people, but he can gain a foothold in the NBA, and played for 14 years, what magic does he have?
An underrated short man with excellent offensive playmaking
Although Boggs is only 1.6 meters tall, don't underestimate his scoring ability, he can average 7.7 points per game in 14 seasons of his career, and he can score double-doubles in three seasons, which is stronger than some two-meter big men. There is a full forty centimeters in the middle, you think his shot will be easily blocked, but in fact, he is good at turning his disadvantage into an advantage, only 1.6 meters he shuttles among the big men, because the dribble is too low, it is difficult for the opponent to steal him, and his speed is extremely fast, and the opponent is not easy to keep up with him. If you keep an eye on the defense, then one step over, if you put a step, he will use the dexterous dribble to shake out of the space, complete the shooting finish, throughout his career, Boggs's shooting rate reached 45.8%, in this talented NBA, Boggs is a very cerebral player, until how to play to his strengths and avoid weaknesses, and know how to turn disadvantages into advantages, which is really admirable.
Some people may say that he can also be in the regular season, but in fact, in the playoffs of the 96-97 season, Boggs shut up those who looked down on him, in front of the Knicks led by Ewing, one of the four centers, Boggs was fearless, in this series, he averaged 16 points per game, the overall shooting rate was 57.9%, and the three-point shooting rate reached a terrifying 85.7%, which was also impressive in the face of Ewing's breakthrough.
Not only that, Boggs's organization is also a good player, averaging 7.6 assists per game in his career, which is an average of 14 seasons, enough to see his stability, not the kind of short-lived player, although the height is very low, but it does not hinder his passing vision, this kind of overall view is his innate, after all, this kind of short player must have insight into the overall situation when playing on the court, otherwise it will be difficult to have a foothold, good at thinking about the player's running movement, so as to accurately pass the ball to his teammates, so that his teammates like to play with him very much, and the ball is always passed to his hands at the most comfortable angle.
And Boggs did not make frequent mistakes because of his short height, on the contrary, he was extremely stable, averaging only 1.5 turnovers per game, which made it difficult to catch his loopholes, and the highest season of his career was with an average of 10.8 points and 10.1 assists per game. Boggs was such a good point guard, which also laid the groundwork for him to become a coach in the future.
The defensive ability is excellent, and he was complained about by Jordan
Don't look at him only one meter six, defense is not a colander, short man once became an important advantage of his defense, due to the disadvantage of height, opponents often like to point to hit him, thinking that it can work, in fact, Boggs's team coach has a set of special tactics for this, whenever the opponent names Boggs, Boggs' teammates will help defend, and then when the package is initially completed, Boggs will coldly steal the opponent and hit a surprise. Boggs's own defensive thinking is very clear, that is, to win by skill, steals are his forte, in his entire career, an average of 1.5 steals per game, even the basketball god Jordan has been impatient by this little man to dig the ball.
Static talents are average, dynamic talents are top-notch
That's right, in fact, in addition to his short height, Boggs's other dynamic talents are not a joke, after all, he was selected in the first round that year, not the second round, can you say that the management has a bad vision, Boggs's vertical bounce has reached 1.11 meters, you must know that Jordan is only 0.98 meters, in comparison, Boggs's talent is not the top. Even center Ewing has been blocked by Boggs.
Boggs' excellent speed is also an important part of his foothold in the NBA, and in a tryout with the Mavericks, the then 36-year-old Boggs ran a good time of 10.7 seconds in the 100 meters, which would have been faster in his early twenties.
In fact, Boggs, as a short man of 1.6 meters, can play in the NBA, attitude is the most important, this height itself is the biggest disadvantage, if it is not for his conscientiousness, passionate and hard-working attitude on the court, it is impossible to play 14 seasons, so success still requires great effort.