Porter Mayberry is 5’5” and possibly the shortest person to ever be able to dunk a basketball. Muggsy Bogues is 2” shorter than Mayberry, and Muggsy is reported to have been a dunker, but he never made a dunk while being taped or during an NBA competition.
Porter Mayberry was filmed dunking the ball, and he was considered to be one of the best slam dunkers in all of the world, not just the shortest. He was born on July 7, 1934 and he died on July 17, 2018.
Shortest Dunkers in NBA
1. Anthony Jerome Webb – AKA Spud Webb
See him dunk at Youtube
Spud Webb was born in Dallas, Texas, he attended Midland College and North Carolina State University. He began playing professionally with the Detroit Pistons in 1985.
- Spud was a point guard with an effective field goal percentage of 47.7%, and he stood 5’6”, and weighed 133lbs.
- He played for the Detroit Pistons, the Atlanta Hawks, the Sacramento Kings, The Minnesota Timberwolves, and Orlando Magic.
- He won the slam dunk championship in the 1986 All-Star game where he was playing against Michael Jordan and Dominic Wilkins.
2. Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson
See his top 10 plays at Youtube
Nate was from Seattle Washington. He was born on May 31, 1984, and he attended college at the University of Washington
- Nate was a point guard who had an effective field goal percentage of 49.3%.
- Nate stood 5’9” and weighed in at 180lbs.
- On February 3, 2013 he won the player of the week award. In the 2004-2005 season he was honored with the NCAA AP All-American Amateur Award.
- He played for the Chicago Bulls in 2004, the Phoenix Suns in 2005, the New York Knicks in 2005, the Boston Celtics in 2010, the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2011, the Golden State Warriors in 2012, the Chicago Bulls in 2012, the Denver Nuggets in 2015, and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2015.
3. Isaiah Jamar Thomas – AKA King in the Fourth and Pizza Guy
See him in action at Youtube
Isaiah is a Point and Shooting Guard. He stands 5’9” and weighs about 185lbs.
He was born in Tacoma, Washington on February 7, 1986.
- He has an effective field goal percentage of 40.4% in the 2018-19 season, but for his entire career his percentage is 50.7%.
- He has played for the Chicago Bulls in 2010, the Milwaukee Bucks in 2010, the Sacramento Kings in 2011, the Phoenix Suns in 2014, Boston Celtics in 2015-17, the Canton Charge of the G-League in 2017, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, the Denver Nuggets in 2018, and the Washington Wizards in 2019.
- He has played in 2 All-Star games.
- He has won five weekly awards that honored him as player of the week. He has won three monthly awards that have honored him as player of the month. He also has two all-league awards.
4. William Bynum
See him in action at Youtube
Will Bynum was born on January 4, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois.
He went to high school at the Crane Technical Preparatory located in Chicago, and he attended college at the University of Arizona and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
- Bynum stood 6’0” tall. That height may not sound short, but if you consider most basketball players are over 6’, and many are over 6’5”, then you see that it is rather short for a b-ball player.
- He had an effective field goal percentage totaling 45.8%.
- He played for the Boston Celtics in 2005, the Golden State Warriors in 2006, the Detroit Pistons in 2008, the Boston Celtics in 2014, the Washington Wizards in 2915, and the Atlanta Hawks in 2016.
5. Tywon Ronnell Lawson
See his 2015 highlights here:
Ty Lawson was also known as Twitter. He stands 5’11” and is a proficient basketball dunker. He was born on November 3, 1987 in Clinton, Maryland.
- He attended college at UNC, and he has an effective field goal percentage of 40.4%.
- In 2012 and 2013 he won weekly awards for player of the week.
- He has an MVP award from the 2012-13 year. He has 2 amateur honor awards.
- He played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009, the Denver Nuggets in 2009, the Houston Rockets in 2015, the Indiana Pacers in 2016, and in August of 2016 he signed with the Sacramento Kings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to dunk a basketball if you are short?
If you are short learning to dunk a basketball is going to require you to improve your vertical jump. You have to be able to get the highest possible vertical jump and that takes exercises and training. Strength training and muscle building exercises will help to improve your vertical jump.
What is the minimum height for dunking?
There is really not a minimum height. This completely depends on your ability to jump high enough to perform the dunk. If you are 6’1” it is easier for you to dunk than if you were 5’6” but the 5’6” player can dunk if they work at their technique.
Can a 5 4 person dunk?
Yes they can. Muggsy Boguese was less than 5’4 and he was capable of dunking. He never made a dunk during an official NBA game, but he did make dunks during practice sessions.
Final Words
The shortest dunker may have been Muggsy Bogues. Muggsy stood only 5’3” and although he never dunked the ball during an NBA game, he was seen dunking the ball during a pre-game, and when he was in high school.
The one lesson we should all learn from these, shorter than average ball players, is to never stop pursuing our dreams. We may not be 7’ tall, but that does not mean we cannot dunk a basketball or dominate the score board.
If you have the desire to play this game, and you put in the effort to perfect your playing ability, then you can play no matter how tall you are.