About Muggsy

Early Life

Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues was born January 9, 1965, in Baltimore, Maryland. During his high school junior and senior years, he led Dunbar to gain rank as one of the top high school team in the United States. He graduated from Wake Forest where the school retired his jersey number. Muggsy was selected 12th in the first round of the NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. He retired from the NBA ranking 16th among all time assist leaders. 

Bogues was the youngest child of Richard and Elaine Bogues. Muggsy grew up along with his two brothers, Richard and Anthony and one sister Sherron in the Lafayette Public housing projects of the city’s east side. There he earned his nickname “Muggsy” from neighborhood playmates.

"Muggsy"

Among his childhood playmates were future NBA players Reggie Williams and David Wingate. He and his friends practiced slam dunks with an open-bottomed milk crate hung on a fence. A coach named Leon Howard steered Muggsy towards organized sports, and Muggsy got another break when he was able to transfer from Baltimore’s Southern High School to Dunbar High, a school with a top-flight basketball program. Dunbar star Dwayne Woods dubbed Bogues “Muggsy”, telling him that his physical style of play reminded him of a mugging.

College

During his junior and senior year, Dunbar won 59 consecutive games and was ranked as one of the top high school team in the United States. Muggsy was voted the most valuable player on his team and then in the city’s public school league, even though he was sharing the court with three other future NBA players Reggie Williams, David Wingate and future Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis. Courted by several top colleges he enrolled at Wake Forest University in 1983. Muggsy came into his own as a point guard, ranking in the top ten nationally in assists and averaging nearly 12 points per game. Muggsy played on the U.S National team that won the world championship in Spain in 1987, and his senior year at Wake Forest was equally distinguished. The school retired his jersey number after he graduated with his BA degree with an Atlantic Coast Conference record of 579 assists.

NBA Career

Muggsy was selected 12th in the first round of the NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. He gained plenty of attention with his unique ball handling skills; he could maintain a legal dribble so close to the ground that his knuckles dragged on the floor; and with his high jumper range 44 inch leaps on the court. But the Bullets were among the teams that did not know how to exploit Muggsy talent, and his playing time declined as the season went on. As a result, the Bullets didn’t shield him from the expansion draft that occurred when NBA added teams for the 1988-89 sea. 

Muggsy was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. He raised his points-per game average to ten in the 1992-93 season and helped lead the Hornets to their first ever appearance in the NBA playoffs. They made the playoffs again in 1995. Muggsy was sidelined by knee injuries for much the 1995-96 season, but he bounced back the following year, leading the NBA with an assist per turnover ration of 4.34. Despite his popularity with the Charlotte fans, especially young ones, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors early in the 1997-98 season.

Current Endeavors

Muggsy played two seasons with the Warriors, and then signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors, taking them to their first playoff series. This is where he would essentially conclude his career. Although he was later traded to both the New YorkKnicks and Dallas Mavericks, he did not play a single game for either franchise. Muggsy retired from professional play ranking at number 16 among all time assist leaders in the NBA.

Since leaving the NBA, Muggsy works in real estate business and is a partner with Underwood Specialty Advertising doing promotional advertising. August 3, 2005, Muggsy became head coach of the Charlotte Sting in the Women’s National Basketball Association, and later the team folded in January 2007. Most recent, he worked with the Charlotte Bobcats as Team Ambassador and Radio Announcer.

Currently, Muggsy has assisted thousands of youth from the ages of 12 to 18 at ‘Always Believe Inc.’ a non-profit program that focuses on student athletics, leadership development, character building, mentoring and team building.

In 2014, Bogues was named and still currently serves as the Hornets Ambassador and Special Projects Advisor.