Muggsy Bogues - Muggsy: My Life from a Kid in the Projects to the Godfather of Small Ball

To my incredible and talented wife, Kim; children, Tyisha, Brittney, and Ty; brothers, Richard and Anthony; guardian angels who made everything possible, my mom, Elaine and sister, Sherron; and first role models, Coach Wade and Leon Howard

M.B.

To my brilliant and beautiful wife, Eva; twin-brother-in-law, Cedric; brother, David; mom, Michelle; and first pick-up pick-and-roll point guard, Jason

J.U.

Contents

Foreword by Stephen Curry

My dad played with Muggsy in Charlotte, and my brother, Seth, and I got to tag along, be in the locker room, and see all of his teammates before and after practice and games. I think theres actually a video of him doing the airplane thing, where hes flying me around the locker room. I was probably around five or six, but Im not exactly sure.

We grew up with their family: Muggsys son, Ty, and daughter, Brittney. She and I were in the same kindergarten class at school. (Its now called Charlotte Prep.) Brittney was actually my first crush! Muggs and my dad would come and pick us up from school. Its cool to think how they played on the Hornets together and the whole deal. Every game was amazing. My brother and I didnt get to go to games on school nights. That was the rule. But Fridays and Saturdays were something we looked forward to all week. Part of that was because of the family section in the arena. There was a family room, which was probably as much fun as the actual games. All the kids just hung out. We could come out and watch the game if we wanted to, but sometimes wed just stay in the back and see everyone later in the tunnel and the locker room.

I remember how electric the city was back then for sure. I loved watching Muggsy play because it was all about the determination and the grit. Its probably been said over and over again, but anybody that can be 53 and hang with that level of talentthats all heart. I gravitated toward that. When youre a kid, youre like, All right, 53. How much longer until Im 53 and then maybe I can play in the NBA? I was always keeping tabs on that.

From an eye test, we were just always in amazement because wed see these broad, giant guys, and then wed see Muggs running around, stealing the ball, and running as fast as he could down the court, setting guys up. It was just fun to watch, but I also couldnt believe I was watching it.

Our families were very close. Where we were in Charlotte, wed go over to their house, and theyd come over to ours. We lived in two different neighborhoods, but there was always an obvious connection because our dads had the same schedules and were in the same profession. We all enjoyed the time we got to hang out. Even to this day, my brother and Ty are extremely close. Its pretty cool how long its lasted.

When wed go to Hornets practices as a kid, Muggsy would entertain us. Wed play one-on-one. Hed push me around a little bit, but hed also take it easy and make sure I had fun. But the biggest influence he had was when I was probably 14 or 15. I was just starting to really find my way in high school basketball. I was looking forward to trying to play in college. We were at the gym one day, and he started to lecture me on core strength. He said, I know youre not going to be the biggest, most athletic, strongest guy. And obviously he wasnt either.

He always talked about making sure your core was the strongest thing in your body so that you could take the hits, so you could handle the physicality. Obviously, hearing that was a big difference-maker and a major reason for how he made it in the league and lasted as long as he did. I took his advice. What he said to me about core strength is something I still think about to this day. It gave me the confidence that I could actually play at the next level. On top of all that, Muggsy has always got such great energy. Whenever you see him, hes smiling and hell call you, Young fella. He just makes you feel good.

Muggsy never really took himself too seriously, even though he knewand we all knewwhat kind of impact he had on other people. Anybody who loves basketball and played in the league respects and appreciates his career. Whenever his name pops up, its usually a fun conversation, talking about somebody who played NBA basketball at 53. You have to pay your respect to the guys who accomplished something that remarkable.

These days smallball has taken a new narrative because of how teams are put together with positionless basketball. But I dont think there will ever be another Muggsy. Im pretty certain there will never be another 53 guy that is as successful as he was. He transcends the game because of that. He set the bar. Even now, hes still doing amazing work. Hes an ambassador for the league. Hed doing great things in the community here in the U.S. and abroad. Hes well-received everywhere. Muggs transcends basketball.

Stephen Curry, all-time three-point leader and three-time NBA champion

Foreword by Alonzo Mourning

I first met Muggsy Bogues in October of 92. Id just finished my contract negotiation and Id unfortunately missed training camp and the first four games of my rookie season. The Charlotte Hornets had drafted me, but there were delays in the contract negotiations. Id been patiently waiting to join the team, but I was also anxious about meeting my new teammates. Finally, though, the deal got done. That morning Hornets officials took me to the team plane. I couldnt even go to my hotel room because our next game was that night on the road in Indiana against the Pacers. When I walked on the plane, I was expecting a warm welcome. But instead everyone just looked at me. They seemed mad as if I was holding thing up.

It was quiet. But the first person who spoke to me was Muggs. I sat down next to him. And from there, he took me under his wing. It was amazing. I was the tallest, biggest guy on the team, and the smallest guy on the team and in the league took me under his wing. He helped me chill out. Muggs got me settled in as a professional. Muggsy gave me direction, which meant a lot for me. It really did, especially on that first day. Im very thankful and grateful for Muggsys gesture on the plane. Im grateful that Muggsy was able to see something in me as a person, too, and for him to take the time to welcome me to the group. He got me acclimated and in the right frame of mind for playing with the Hornets and for playing against the Pacers that night.

There was a tremendous amount of respect for Muggsy at all times. From Day One on the Hornets, Muggsy was sincere. He said that all he wanted was to see me do well and he made that happen. In practices he was the floor general. The one thing he used to tell me was: Dont let me beat you down the court. Because he was so fast, he would push the basketball up the floor, but he wanted us in front of him to finish on fast breaks. He was an expert at identifying who was open. He got the ball in the right hands at the right time. Muggsy said, Just dont let me get in front of you. Run as hard as you can. Ill find you. Dont worry about that. Ill find you.

So I did what he told me to do. I sprinted up the court and I was the beneficiary of a lot of his assists. Muggsy made me a better player by just calming me down and helping me understand my strengths, which would in turn help the team win. Once I embraced the direction he was giving me, the rest is history. I was able to build a certain level of confidence because of what he communicated. I could feel that he had confidence in me, which helped me with finding my role and starting my career off the right way. As a rookie and in my second and third year, I had no doubts whatsoever about playing with Muggsy. He was our point guard. I was extremely confident when he was on the floor. He wasnt about anything but making the right play. All you had to do was get yourself open, and he would find you. It was simple as that. Muggsy made it look easy.