Earl Boykins

Earl Boykins

No. 11 – Charlotte Bobcats
Position	Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1976-06-02) June 2, 1976 Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality	American
Listed height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Listed weight	133 lb (60 kg)
Career information
College	Eastern Michigan
Playing career	1999–present
Career highlights and awards
1998 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Earl Antoine Boykins (born June 2 1976 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player.

College career

He played collegiately at Eastern Michigan University from 1995 to 1998. He earned All-Mid-American Conference first team honors in his junior and senior year. During his senior year, Earl was second in the NCAA with 26.8 ppg. He holds the career record for assists at his alma mater.

NBA career

Boykins has played in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and now the Charlotte Bobcats. He also spent two years in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), where he played for the Rockford Lightning. At 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), Boykins is the shortest active NBA player and the second shortest player in NBA history behind Muggsy Bogues, who was 5'3" (1.60 m). Earl Boykins weighs only 133 pounds (60 kg) but according to various sources he can max-out on bench press at 310 pounds. Boykins is the shortest player in the history of the NBA to score over 30 points in a game—a number he has reached several times, with his career high being 36.

After bouncing around with various teams around the league in a limited reserve role for his first five years in the NBA, Boykins finally earned a guaranteed contract with the Denver Nuggets in 2003, signing a 5 year $13.7 million dollar deal, with the fifth year being a player option. Boykins's role is typically to come off the bench to inject energy into his team's offense. He is one of the quickest guards in the league, and pairs this with a very fast shooting motion, which allows him to get shots off against much taller defenders. His ability to score off the bench along with his low-to-the-floor stature gained him the moniker "the Double-Digit Midget".

Boykins' NBA career has solidified in recent years in part due to the recent change in rules allowing some forms of zone defense. Boykins' teams had feared playing Boykins, because opponents could exploit his size by trying to post him up. But with the gradual increase in the use of modified zone defenses in the last few years, fewer situations arise where Boykins is isolated alone defending a taller player in the painted area. Moreover, since few point guards in the league have polished post-up moves as part of their offensive repertoire, opposing teams are generally reluctant to abandon their usual offense in an effort to exploit Boykins' size.

Boykins competed twice in NBA All-Star Weekend; he finished third in 2003-04 and second in 2004-05 Skills Challenge. On January 18 2005, Boykins set a then-NBA record for scoring in overtime when he tallied 15 points. (Boykins's record was surpassed by Gilbert Arenas's 16 points in overtime on December 17, 2006.)

On January 11, 2007 Boykins was traded (along with Julius Hodge) to the Milwaukee Bucks for Steve Blake. Following a successful campaign with the Bucks, where he averaged 14 points and 4.5 assists per game, Boykins decided to opt out of his contract and a guaranteed $3 million and become a free agent hoping to secure a long term deal with another team. As the season started, Boykins had yet to find a team willing to match his price.

On January 31st, 2008, the Bobcats signed Boykins to a deal for the remainder of the season.

External links

• Earl Boykins NBA profile
• Earl Boykins article at sportsillustrated
• Earl Boykins stats