By Jordan Long
On Wednesday, the Basketball Hall of Fame unveiled their candidates for 2017. Among them is first-time Hall Of Fame Candidate Muggsy Bogues. Should he make the Hall of Fame on the first ballot?
Muggsy Bogues was the shortest player to ever play in the NBA at 5 foot 3 inches. He was drafted in the first-round by Washington in the 1987 NBA Draft. Bogues started 14 games his rookie year. In those games he averaged 5.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 5 points per game. The next year both the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets entered the NBA. Washington left him unprotected which meant that Bogues could be selected in the expansion draft. The Hornets picked him and he spent the next ten years in Charlotte.
Bogues had his best year in Charlotte in 1995. That year he scored a career high of 11.1 points per game. He also had 8.7 assists per game. Two games into the 1997-1998 season, Bogues was traded to Golden State where he played for two years.
Prior to the 1999-2000 season, Bogues headed to Canada to suit up for the Toronto Raptors. In 80 games that season he averaged 3.7 assists and 5.1 points per game. In the 2001 season Bogues played three games and decided to end his NBA career.
Bogues never won a ring, let alone appeared in the NBA Championship, but was in 19 playoff games. In those games he averaged 5.6 assists and 8.9 points per game. Bogues wasn’t even voted into an All-Star Game.
Bogues is only a candidate for the Hall of Fame because of his ability to find his teammates in the open court. He finished with a total of 6,726 assists which is 19th on the All-Time NBA list.
It was amazing to watch what Bogues could do on the hardwood because he was playing against giants. The average NBA player was almost a foot taller than him, but he could still pass the basketball and make baskets. It may not be 2017 but hopefully it will be soon for Bogues to hear his name as one of the best basketball players to ever play the game.
The class of 2017 will be announced on April 3, 2017 at the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona. September 7th through the 9th the class of 2017 will be inducted.
How do you feel about Muggsy Bogues’ chances of being inducted in 2017?
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