The NBA's All Time Greatest Little Men

The players included in this list all stood at 6'1" or under. They were all leaders on their teams and elite players during their careers. There have been other little men with big reputations, but these are the most exclusive because of the success they enjoyed.

5) Calvin Murphy

Standing at 5'9" Calvin Murphy is the shortest among this group. He was the smallest player in the league but still managed to make the All-Rookie team in 1971. He was a tremendous free throw shooter. He is third all time in consecutive free throws made, hitting 78 in a row. He also set the single season record for free throw percentage, hitting 206 out of 215 for a percentage of .958, in 1980-1981. His best season occurred in 1977-1978 when he averaged 25.6 per game. He was also a member of the 1980-1981 Houston Rockets team that went to the NBA finals and eventually lost to the Celtics in 6 games. For his career he averaged 17.9 points per game, 4.4 assists per game, 2.1 rebounds per game and shot a blistering .892% from the free throw line. He is enshrined in the pro basketball hall of fame.

4) Nate "Tiny" Archibald

In an interesting twist, one of the other all time great little men of the NBA, Nate Archibald, was drafted immediately after Murphy in 1970 by the Cincinnati Royals. "Tiny" Archibald became the only player to ever lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season. In 1972-73 he averaged an amazing 34.0 ppg and 11.4 assists. He played in 6 All Star games and was All-NBA first team in three seasons (1973 '75 '76). He won a championship in 1981 with the Boston Celtics, playing against Calvin Murphy. He is also in the Hall of Fame and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. His career statistics are 18.8 ppg, 7.4 apg., 2.3 rpg.

3) Allen Iverson

The most dominant and elite scorer on the list, Iverson would be contending for the number one spot were it not for his lack of playoff success. "The Answer", however, did reach the finals as the leader of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001, also winning the scoring title and the league MVP award the same year. He was in fact the NBA's scoring champion four times, winning that title in 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2004, 05. He is an 11 time all star, was the NBA rookie of the year in 1997 and also a two time all star game MVP (2001, 2005). For his career he has averaged 26.7ppg, 6.2 apg, 2.9 rpg and 2.2 spg. He should be a first ballot hall of famer.

2) John Stockton

John Stockton is the all time NBA leader in both assists and steals. His 14.5 assists per game average in 1989-1990 is an NBA record. He was two time all NBA first team in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. He played alongside Karl Malone on two teams that made it to the NBA finals in 1997 and 1998, losing both times to the juggernaut Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. He is an NBA ironman, having played the second most games in NBA history, after A.C. Green, all of them with the Utah Jazz. A member of the 1992 Dream Team, he is also member of the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame and was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. His career averages are 13.1 ppg, 10.5 apg, 27 rpg, and 2.17 spg.

1) Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas is the king of the little men and rightfully belongs at the top of the list. Not only is he among the greatest little men of all time, he is among the greatest NBA players of all time and is frequently listed right alongside of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson when discussing the great players of the 1980s. He appeared in 3 NBA finals as the leader of the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons, winning the title in 1989 and 1990. His Pistons closed out the decade of dominance of the Lakers and Celtics by finally getting past Boston in 1988 and beating LA soundly in 1989 in 4 games, after having lost a hard-fought finals in 7 games the previous season. Most famously, in game 6 of that losing series Thomas scored 43 points on a sprained ankle, scoring 25 points in one quarter. Thomas is a 12 time NBA All-Star, NBA Finals MVP (1990) and selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He is, of course, also a Hall of Famer. For his career he averaged 19.2ppg , 9.3 apg, and 3.6 rpg.

Honorable Mention:

Michael Adams, Spud Webb, and Muggsy Bogues are all remembered for being very small players with runs of success in the NBA. None of them, however, enjoyed careers on the same level with the players included here. Steve Nash is frequently considered a little man as well, but standing at 6'3" he runs a little bit too tall for this list.

Sources:

NBA.com

Wikipedia.com