Stop saying basketball is a game for giants! These NBA short beasts specialize in treating all kinds of dissatisfaction

Some people always say that the NBA is a "giant's game". Anyone under 1.9 meters tall is considered a "little man", and those under 1.8 meters tall are labeled as "soy sauce". But there happened to be some short beasts who ran rampant in the crowd of people - they used their speed to tear apart the defense, used their bounce to crush doubts, and used their fighting spirit to turn their "height disadvantage" into an "exclusive medal". Today let’s talk about these ruthless characters who broke prejudices. Each of them deserves your thumbs up.

When it comes to the totems of short players, Allen Iverson must be ranked first. He is 1.83 meters tall, but this does not prevent him from becoming the number one pick of the golden generation in 1996 - this in itself is the most severe counterattack against the "height theory". Although the 76ers in 2001 had a defensive pillar like Mutombo, Iverson was almost the absolute core to carry them into the finals. That season, he won the regular season MVP with a league-high 31.1 points per game, becoming the shortest MVP in history. Facing the "Three Musketeers" of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Iverson averaged 32.9 points per game and defeated his opponents. He led the team to advance with 44 points in the tiebreaker. Of course, the most noteworthy performance is the peak performance in G1 away game of the Finals - 48 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. He used an iconic jump shot to kill the "OK" Lakers who were in full swing, leaving the famous scene of "stepping over Lu" that spanned the ages at the Staples Center.

If Iverson is the spiritual totem of short players, then Nate Robinson is the madman who dunks the "impossible" into the basket. He is 1.75 meters tall, but he holds the three slam dunk contest championship trophies in 2006, 2009, and 2010. He is the first player in NBA history to achieve this achievement, and he can be called a unique existence. In the most classic 2009 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, he stood on spring-like legs, wearing a green Kryptonian suit, and leaped directly over the 2.11-meter center Dwight Howard who was wearing a Superman cape. When he dunked with one hand, the audience at Staples Center screamed and almost turned the roof off. This dunk also won a perfect score without any suspense. This "little potato"'s physical talent is incredible - the vertical take-off height of the rookie reached 43.5 inches (approximately 1.1 meters), and he is full of energy from a rugby background. In the 2008-09 season with the Knicks, he reached the peak of his career, averaging 17.2 points and 4.1 assists per game. Even though he played as a substitute most of the time, he could always become a scoring point at critical moments, taking the "violent aesthetics" of the small man to a new level.

There is also Isaiah Thomas, who is known as "The Strongest 175 on the Surface". In the 2016-17 season, Thomas reached the peak of his career, averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game in the regular season. This scoring data was second only to Wei Shao and Harden, ranking third in the league's scoring list, and ranked second in the Celtics' single-season scoring list, second only to Larry Bird. In the playoffs of that season, he wrote an even more touching legend: while grieving the death of his sister in a car accident, he scored 53 points against the Wizards and led the team to an overtime victory, becoming the shortest 50-point playoff winner in NBA history after Allen Iverson. What's even more touching is his iron-blooded spirit. With the hidden danger of hip injury, he chose to play in isolation in the playoffs and even struggled to the point where he couldn't walk on his own after the game. From the top three scorers to the tragic hero in the playoffs, Thomas Jr. proved with his actions that the "beast attributes" of short players have always been hidden in their unyielding bones.

In fact, looking back at the history of the NBA, the legend of the short beast has already been foreshadowed. Tiny Bogues, who is only 1.60 meters tall, is not only the shortest player in the history of the league, but also played on the court for 14 seasons, breaking the height prejudice with his strength. His peak was in the 1993-94 season, when he averaged a dazzling double-double of 10.8 points and 10.1 assists per game, becoming a rare short all-around point guard in the league. There is also Bogues, whose on-court intelligence is astonishing. With his low center of gravity and keen anticipation, he has successfully restricted top scorers including Jordan many times, and turned his "height shortcoming" into a unique "defensive advantage". He has also sent out a total of 39 blocks in his career, becoming a defensive benchmark for short players. Another short legend is Sbert Weber, who is 1.69 meters tall. In the 1986 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, he staged the classic drama of "defeating the big with small" - in the peak showdown with "The Essence of Human Movies" Dominic Wilkins, Weber conquered the judges with stunning moves such as a reverse two-hand dunk and a 360-degree turn dunk, and finally won the championship with a perfect score. This victory completely overturned the inherent perception that "small men cannot dunk", making him the shortest dunk champion in NBA history, and also lit up the light of hope for future generations of short players.

These players have proven through their careers that the NBA has never been just about height. Speed, skill, fighting spirit and an unwillingness to admit defeat are the keys to becoming a "beast". They may not be able to make waves under the basket like a center, but they can always tear apart the defense and control the game in their own way, and tell the world with their wonderful performances: the charm of basketball lies in breaking all prejudices.