Hornets Will Retire Muggsy Bogues' No. 1 Jersey on Feb. 11

By The Arena Staff

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 27, 2026 — Muggsy Bogues spent 14 NBA seasons looking up at everybody on the floor. Come February, Charlotte will be looking up at him.

The Hornets announced Tuesday that they will retire Bogues' No. 1 jersey at halftime of their Feb. 11 home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. At 5-foot-3, Bogues is the shortest player in NBA history, and he becomes just the third Hornet with a retired number, joining Bobby Phills (No. 13) and Dell Curry (No. 30).

"How ironic is that?" Bogues said, according to the Associated Press. "After all those times that you felt like you were looking up, looking up for so many years, at people."

The number was not available until recently. LaMelo Ball had worn No. 1 since Charlotte took him third overall in the 2020 draft, and the Hornets traded Ball to Minnesota this offseason, Bleacher Report noted. ESPN's Shams Charania reported the plans Tuesday.

Bogues was drafted 12th overall by the then-Washington Bullets in 1987, left unprotected in the 1988 expansion draft and picked up by the brand-new Hornets. He spent 10 of his 14 seasons in Charlotte and still leads the franchise in assists, steals and minutes. His best year came in 1993-94, when he averaged 10.8 points, 10.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals, and only Utah's John Stockton averaged more assists, according to NBA.com. Charlotte made the playoffs four times during his tenure, and when he was traded in 1997, he and Curry were the last two original Hornets left.

"I probably walked around thinking I was 6-foot-5," Bogues told NBA.com. "That's how I looked at myself and carried myself. I felt I belonged."

The 61-year-old still lives in the Charlotte area, where he runs the Muggsy Bogues Family Foundation, which provides trade-school scholarships and helps families facing food insecurity. "Me and the Hornets put each other on the map," he said, adding that seeing his jersey in the rafters "means the world to me and my family."

The Hornets shared the news on their official X account.

Sources: NBA.com, AP and Bleacher Report.