By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Round 5 MVP TJ Shorts has been one of the standout players of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season so far, despite standing at just 1.75 meters. The Paris Basketball guard is putting on a clinic when it comes to dominating the game with his speed by actually using his height to his advantage. The funny, and rather impressive, thing is that we are talking about a player who isn’t really a reliable threat from the perimeter but still manages to be pretty much unstoppable.
The sample isn’t large, of course, but his averages of 19.8 points, 7.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds are telling. As are Paris’ wins over defending champion Panathinaikos, which came at Adidas Arena, and Final Four contender AS Monaco on the road.
Very few EuroLeague players before Shorts managed to have such an impact on their teams’ game and make this kind of noise while being under 1.80m. Here’s a Holy Trinity (plus one special mention) of past EuroLeague stars who perfectly exemplified the “heart over height” motto.
Bobby Dixon, a.k.a. Ali Muhammed
Height: 1.78 m
A EuroLeague champion in 2017 with Fenerbahce Beko, Bobby Dixon will forever be remembered as a standout guard who notably overcame his small stature to have a long and quite successful career in the competition.
Dixon debuted in the EuroLeague with LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in 2009, but it was a couple of years later that he made name for himself among European basketball’s elite. In 2015, he signed with Fenerbahce and quickly become an integral part of the Turkish side’s Final Four and championship teams in the following years, which saw him become a big fan favorite.
In the 2016 championship game and during his first Final Four appearance, Dixon was Fener’s leading scorer with 17 points but CSKA Moscow prevailed in overtime. A year later, he would help the team claim its first-ever EuroLeague title.
Dixon was a very dangerous shooter, able to quickly take advantage of defensive switches from long or mid range and even successfully shoot the ball against much taller opponents. He finished his career in the EuroLeague with 41.2% shooting on three-pointers on 4.5 attempts per game.
Terrell McIntyre
Height: 1.75
Terrell McIntyre’s first two seasons with Montepaschi Siena in 2007-08 and 2008-09 were something to behold so much so that the American player could easily be a prominent member of a list of the best EuroLeague guards who never won a EuroLeague title.
It took McIntyre several years as a European basketball journeyman before he got his first opportunity in the EuroLeague with Siena in 2007. It was an instant success for him as he led the team to the Final Four, being named to the All-EuroLeague First Team in the process.
The next season, McIntyre was in his prime, playing the best basketball of his career, and this was reflected in his catapulting numbers. Despite a tremendous playoff run (24.8 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds), Siena was unable to match the perfect machine that was the 2009 Panathinaikos Athens and their return to the Final Four was thwarted.
McIntyre made the All-EuroLeague First Team once more after completing the season with 17.3 points, 4.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds. He spent one more year with Siena and another with Unicaja Malaga in the EuroLeague before hanging up his sneakers in 2011 due to injury problems.
Tyus Edney
Height: 1.78 m
TJ Shorts was just a toddler when Tyus Edney led Zalgiris Kaunas to their first-ever EuroLeague championship title in 1999, winning Final Four MVP honors.
With Edney as the driving force, Zalgiris’ offensive brand of basketball was quite unique back then. The former NBA guard brought on the court a stunning ability to push the team in transition and bend the game tempo to his will, while providing court vision and diverse ways of filling the opponent’s basket.
After a stint with the Indiana Pacers, Edney returned to the EuroLeague with Benetton Treviso in 2001. He established himself as one of the top point guards in Europe and in 2003, he pushed his team all the way to the EuroLeague championship game, although it was Dejan Bodiroga’s Barcelona who came out on top.
Edney received back-to-back All-EuroLeague First Team selections in 2002 and 2003 and stayed with Benetton until 2005, when he moved to Olympiacos Piraeus. He had a memorable run with the Reds to help the team reach the playoffs and then spent another season in the EuroLeague with Fortitudo Bologna.
Special Mention: Marques Green
Height: 1.65
We just had to include Marques Green on this list because we aren’t talking simply about a player below the 1.80m mark, but rather someone who was not even 1.70m. He still had a long career in Europe from 2004 to 2019 that included two seasons in the EuroLeague.
A defensive pest with a particular knack for snatching the ball, Green’s first EuroLeague journey was with Fenerbahce in 2008–09, playing 27:19 minutes per game and averaging 5.8 points, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals. He had another run in the competition with Cedevita Zagreb in 2012-13, posting 5.7 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 23:37 minutes per night.