15 shortest players in VTB United League history

Height alone isn’t all that matters in professional basketball. There are plenty of examples when the smallest players on the court have smashed stereotypes to rise to the top of the game and make a big impact, no matter where they’ve competed.

Following up on our ranking of the League’s tallest players, VTB-League.com presents a rundown of the shortest players in VTB United League history.

League’s Top 15 shortest players:

15. Rashaun Broadus – 180 cm

Club: Neptunas (Lithuania)
Season: 2012/13
Stats: 18 games (22.4 minutes) – 7.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 4.6 efficiency rating
Last season, Rashaun Broadus played a key role for Neptunas (Lithuania). He started in 11 of 18 games to match up with many of the League’s best point guards. In the spring, after his contract with Neptunas ended, the American parted ways with Klaipeda and left the league.

14. Evaldas Dainys – 180 cm

Club: Neptunas (Lithuania)
Season: 2012/13
Stats: 13 games (17.4 minutes) – 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 4.5 efficiency rating
Evaldas Dainys had to compete with Broadus for a place in Neptunas’s starting lineup. Evaldas lost the battle and decided in the offseason to look for a team that could guarantee him more playing time.

13. Andrey Mateyunas – 180 cm

Club: Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
Season: 2011/12
Stats: 2 games (3.3 minutes – 0.5 points, 0.5 rebounds
Once one of Russia’s most promising point guards, Andrey Moteyunas began his professional career with Triumph Lyubertsy, before making his VTB United League debut in the 2011/12 season for Nizhny Novgorod. Andrey now competes in the Superleague and often plays in streetball tournaments, where he always puts on a show with his dribbling technique.

12. Adrian Abrams – 180 cm

Club: Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Season: 2011/12, 2012/13
Stats: 17 games (19.1 minutes) – 8.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 6.6 efficiency rating
The Texas University grad arrived in the Czech Republic in 2011, where he quickly won the affection of the local fans. Adrian Abrams played two solid seasons for Nymburk and often single-handedly turned games around with his sky-high energy.
Currently, the guard is a free agent and searching for a new team.

11. Devin Gibson – 180 cm

Club: Kalev (Estonia)
Season: 2013/14 (active League player)
Stats: 5 games (15.3 minutes) – 4.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 5.8 efficiency rating
Devin Gibson – another little guy from the state of Texas. After college, Devin joined the German basketball league, before signing a contract with Estonian club Kalev this season, where he’s trying to earn a spot as a starter.

10. Demond Carter – 180 cm

Club: Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Season: 2012/13
Stats: 10 games (20.2 minutes) – 8.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.2 steals, 9.9 efficiency rating
After one season in the D-League, Demond Carter decided to move to Europe, in order to find more playing time and to try out something new. In 2012, he ended up in the Czech Republic, played 10 games for Nymburk, the country’s top club, before joining a club in Germany, where he’s still playing.

9. Josh Akognon – 180 cm

Club: Kalev (Estonia)
Season: 2009/10
Stats: 5 games (27.3 minutes) – 15.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 8.6 efficiency rating
After finishing school, Josh Akognon unexpectedly moved to Estonia, where he signed his first professional contract with Kalev. He got off to a good start, which led to several enticing offers just five games into his Estonian stay. In the end, after a tenure in China, he returned to America and joined the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, where he played several games.

8. Khalid El-Amin – 179 cm

Club: Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Season: 2010/11
Stats: 7 games (25.0 minutes) – 8.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 7.0 efficiency rating
The NCAA champ, who began his pro career with the Chicago Bulls, played for a plethora of European teams over his 14-year career, spending a season in the VTB United League along the way. Two years ago, Khalid El-Amin was a key player for Lietuvos Rytas, where he had a reputation for fearless shooting.

7. Milan Pavkovic – 178 cm

Club: Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Season: 2012/13
Stats: 16 games (13.2 minutes) – 3.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.3 steals, 3.6 efficiency rating
Nymburk signed Milan Pavkovic in June 2012 in hopes that he could possible earn the starting point guard role. But the Serbian playmaker didn’t live up to expectations and left both the Czech Republic and the League at the end of the season.

6. Timur Sultanov – 178 cm

Club: Astana (Kazakhstan)
Season: 2013/14 (active League player)
Stats: hasn’t played yet
During the offseason, Astana general manager Valery Tikhonenko decided to offer the Kazakh national team player an opportunity to join the country’s top team. Sultanov didn’t refuse. He’s on the active roster and featured on this list, but yet to play in a game this season.

5. Brian Chase – 178 cm

Club: Enisey (Russia)
Season: 2011/12
Stats: 7 games (28.1 minutes) – 10.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 7.0 efficiency rating
Enisey signed the veteran guard in 2011. He’d previously spent time with Dynamo Moscow. Brian Chase quickly felt at home in Krasnoyarsk, emerging as a team leader. Shooting 46.9% from the long range, with an average of 2.1 3-pointers a game, the American signing was one of the League’s most dangerous perimeter threats.

4. Michael Wilks – 178 cm

Club: Asseco Prokom (Poland)
Season: 2010/11
Stats: 7 games (23.1 minutes) – 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 10.0 efficiency rating
Michael Wilks’s career has been full of stops. He played his first game in the NBA in 2002, going on to feature for nine teams in seven seasons. In hopes of earning more playing time, he left America and signed with Polish club Asseco Prokom, where he played an incomplete season. Thus, Wilks became the first VTB United League player with an NBA championship ring (San Antonio in 2005).

3. Courtney Eldridge – 178 cm

Clubs: Asseco Prokom (Poland); Minsk-2006 (Belarus)
Season: 2010/11; 2011/12
Stats: 14 games (22.2 minutes) – 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.9 steals, 6.1 efficiency rating
Eldridge joined Wilks at Prokom in 2010/11. The two of them combined to make the shortest guard duo in VTB United League history. Unlike his teammate, Eldridge stuck around the League for another season, signing with Minsk-2006 (Belarus) in 2011/12.

2. Jerome Randle – 178 cm

Club: Azovmash (Ukraine)
Season: 2011/12
Stats: 3 games (16.3 minutes) – 3.0 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.3 steals
American Jerome Randle, who spent a few years in the D-League, Turkey and Israel after college, traveled to Ukraine in 2012 to sign with Azovmash. He didn’t stick around for long, however. After the regular season ended, Jerome bid farewell to the League.

1. Jerel Blassingame – 175 cm

Club: Asseco Prokom (Poland)
Season: 2011/12
Stats: 16 games (25.5 minutes) – 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 11.1 efficiency rating
The American guard wasn’t just the League’s shortest player ever, but also the guy with the best stats on this list. He played the entire 2011/12 season for Asseco Prokom, leading the league in assists (5.9 per game) and set a new single-game assists record (15). No one’s been able to top it since.