Bogues, Tyrone with Jacob Uitti. Muggsy: My Life from a Kid in the Projects to the Godfather of Small Ball. Triumph Books, 2023. Pp. 256. $28 paper.
Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski
Asked whether there would ever be another Larry Bird, Bird himself answered that the proper question should be whether there would ever be another Muggsy Bogues. And, in a sense, he was right. Dirk Nowitzki or Kevin Durant, while unique in their own way, may be considered next-generation versions of Larry Legend, whereas players like Earl Boykins, Ty Lawson or Isaiah Thomas have a couple of inches on Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues from Baltimore.
Bouges, at 5-foot-3, for years was a starter on NBA teams, even in a time when zone defense was illegal and the game was more physical. Clearly, there is more to Bogues’ career than height, and from this book one can learn just how slim of a chance somebody like him had of making the NBA. Bogues explains that his height was the result of genes, as his father was 5-foot-5 and mother 4-foot-11. While that is as good of an explanation as any other, it is worth noting that the parents of the tallest player in NBA history––the 7-foot-7 Romanian Gheorghe Muresan––were not actual giants; his father was 5-foot-9, his mom 5-foot-7.
The biography is filled with anecdotes and additional information, which at times seem forced and take away from the narrative. While they provide context, they often have the vibe of Wikipedia entries. Furthermore, there are some inaccuracies and omissions. For example, despite discussing the careers of Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter, the draft day trade between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors in 1998, which sent Carter to Toronto and Jamison to Golden State, is not addressed. Bogues also suggests he taught Jason Caffey how to fit in on a winning team when on the Golden State Warriors. However, prior to playing with Bogues, Caffey won two NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He already was a part of a winning team.
Coming back to Bogues, he began playing organized basketball at eight or nine. Due to his height, he always had to put an extra effort to just be able to play, until his skills developed to a point that he became a true floor general. Due to his play on defense, he earned the nickname “Muggsy,” because he was “mugging everyone out there on the court” (p. 40). As a member of the Dunbar Poets, Bogues became part of the best high school team in history, going undefeated for two-straight seasons. Bogues did not have the same luck when playing professionally, but he was on some memorable teams with the Charlotte Hornets alongside Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson. The player retells his career in a rather bland manner, not offending anyone nor exposing any locker room secrets, positive or negative. He lives up to his “good guy persona,” which is drummed up by statements from players, current and former, praising him for what he did for and meant to the game of basketball.
For years, there was a rumor circulating that, when Bogues was playing against the Bulls and was about to shoot, Michael Jordan said to him,“Shoot the ball, midget!” and it broke Bogues, impacting his self-confidence. In the book, Bogues dismisses the story. He lets the positives outweigh the negatives when describing his relationship with the controversial Hornets’ owner George Shinn. All in all, the book makes for an easily-digestible, predictable read, one which will not shine a new light on Bogues’ career but will help the reader appreciate him as a person. Reading the book will help one understand what made him such a great teammate… but not much more.
Łukasz Muniowski recieved his Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of Warsaw. He is the author of Three-Pointer! A 40-Year NBA History (McFarland, 2020), Narrating the NBA: Representations of Leading Players after the Michael Jordan Era (Lexington, 2021),and The Sixth Man: A History of the NBA Off the Bench (McFarland, 2021).
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