Muggsy Bogues's Real Name: Tyrone Curtis Bogues

Quick answer: He is known as Muggsy Bogues, and his birth name is Tyrone Curtis Bogues. An Encyclopedia.com biography says he was "born Tyrone Curtis Bogues in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 9, 1965." Wake Forest University's library also uses Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues, and Basketball-Reference lists the full name with a height of 5 feet 3 inches.

Real name and early life

Encyclopedia.com's biography gives his birth name as Tyrone Curtis Bogues, born January 9, 1965, in Baltimore, and says he acquired the nickname "Muggsy" from a basketball teammate. Wake Forest's Z. Smith Reynolds Library introduces him as Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues, a native of Baltimore. Basketball-Reference lists Tyrone Curtis Bogues at 5-3 and 136 pounds, and NBA.com's player page gives the January 9, 1965, birth date.

Encyclopedia.com says he grew up in east Baltimore's housing projects as the youngest of four children, that both parents were short, and that he learned the game on neighborhood playgrounds with future NBA players Reggie Williams and David Wingate. It says he transferred to Dunbar High School, where the team won 59 straight games during his junior and senior years.

Career highlights

Encyclopedia.com says he became a top point guard at Wake Forest, ranking among the national leaders in assists, and played on the U.S. team that won the 1987 world championship in Spain. It says Wake Forest retired his jersey number and lists a 1988 bachelor's degree.

Basketball-Reference records that he was drafted by the Washington Bullets with the 12th pick of the 1987 NBA Draft, then taken by the Charlotte Hornets in the June 1988 expansion draft. Encyclopedia.com says the Bullets left him unprotected amid criticism of picking such a small player. Wake Forest calls him the shortest player ever to play in the NBA and says he is best known for his 10 seasons with the Hornets.

Encyclopedia.com says he helped lead Charlotte to its first playoff appearance in 1993 and led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio in 1996–97. Basketball-Reference records a November 1997 trade to the Golden State Warriors, and both it and Encyclopedia.com list later time with the Toronto Raptors, from which he was traded to the New York Knicks in February 2001. Wake Forest describes a 14-season NBA career with four teams, while Encyclopedia.com refers to 16 seasons, so the count differs by source.

Encyclopedia.com lists a Jim Thorpe Award for inspiration in 1995, induction into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, and a head coaching job with the WNBA's Charlotte Sting from 2005. Wake Forest hosted a public conversation with him in 2022.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Muggsy, Muggsy Bogues, Tyrone Bogues, or Tyrone Curtis Bogues are looking for the same point guard. "Muggsy" is a nickname from a teammate, not a legal name.