Earl Antoine Boykins (born June 2, 1976) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the USC Trojans men's team. He played thirteen seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, Charlotte Bobcats,

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

and

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. Standing at in height, Boykins is the second-shortest player in NBA history behind

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is an American former basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season care ...

. He also played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) and overseas in Italy. Boykins started his coaching career as the head coach for the Douglas County High School boys varsity basketball team from 2013 to 2019. He was an assistant coach for the UTEP Miners from 2021 to 2025. Boykins joined USC in 2025.

Early life

Boykins was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

in 1976. As a child his 5' 8" father, Willie Williams, would sneak Boykins into a gym in his gym bag. Boykins grew up playing in recreational leagues with his father and other grown men. Boykins played high school basketball at Cleveland Central Catholic High School where he averaged 24.6 points per game and led the school to a 23–2 record as a senior. In 2015, ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' ranked him the best Cleveland-area high school basketball player of the 1990s.

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

and

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

were the only two Division I basketball programs to offer Boykins an athletic scholarship, though Iowa later withdrew its offer.

College career

Boykins played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

from 1994 to 1998. Eastern Michigan won the MAC tournament in 1996 and 1998. He earned All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

first-team honors in his junior and senior year. Also, during his senior season, Boykins was second in the

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level ...

in scoring, with an average of 26.8 points per game. He holds the career record for total assists (624) at Eastern Michigan University. In his last game he scored 18 points in a losing effort to

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. On February 27, 2011, Boykins' No. 11 jersey was retired and raised to the rafters in a ceremony at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center.

Professional career

First NBA stint

Boykins was never drafted by an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

team, but he was signed to short-term contracts by five different NBA teams before signing a five-year, $13.7 million contract with the

prior to the 2003–2004 season. On November 11, 2004, Boykins scored 32 points in a 117–109 Nuggets' home win over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, making him the shortest player in NBA history to score 30 or more points during a game. After spending three full seasons and a portion of a fourth season with Denver, Boykins was traded to the

in January 2007. After finishing the season in Milwaukee, Boykins opted out of his contract; he later signed with the Charlotte Bobcats partway through the 2007–2008 season and finished the season there.

Italy

Following the

2007–08 NBA season The 2007–08 NBA season was the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 131–92 to win the 2008 NBA Finals, four games to two. The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, a ...

, Boykins was an unrestricted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Instead of signing with an NBA team, he decided to play basketball in Europe and signed a one-year, $3.5 million

net income In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

contract with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of the Italian A League. The one-year deal made Boykins the highest-paid basketball player in the Italian League and included income from Bologna's sponsorship and marketing arms, which is not an option for NBA players because of salary-cap restrictions. On December 26, 2008, it was announced by Virtus

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

Claudio Sabatini that Boykins was cut from the club due to behavioral issues after Boykins flew home to the United States in order to see his sick son. However, a few days later, thanks to the intervention of Virtus general manager Andrea Luchi, it was announced that Boykins was staying with the club. On April 26, 2009, his team won the EuroChallenge Cup by defeating Cholet Basket. In June 2009, he was released by Virtus.

Return to NBA

Boykins signed with the Washington Wizards in November 2009, making his return to the National Basketball Association. Boykins was a much-needed addition to the Wizards, after guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the remainder of the current season after a misdemeanor gun possession charge stemming from a locker room incident. In the December 2, 2009, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Boykins sank two free throws to clinch the Wizards' victory. Earl Boykins Bucks

On August 19, 2010, the Bucks signed him to a one-year deal. Boykins signed a 10-day contract with the

on March 26, 2012. Boykins has not played in the NBA since.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

In the summer of 2017, Boykins competed in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

for Paul Champions. Competing for the $2 million grand prize, Boykins helped lead his team to two victories in the TBT Jamboree which secured Paul Champions' spot as one of the 64 teams in the tournament. During the Jamboree, Boykins averaged 24.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. In their first-round match up, Boykins scored a game-high 25 points, helping the Champions to a 78–74 victory over the Talladega Knights; a team led by former

players Josh Boone and Gary Forbes. Boykins and the Champions would eventually fall in the second-round to the number one seeded Untouchables.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .476 , , .200 , , .000 , , .8 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .0 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .345 , , .154 , , .667 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .750 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 0 , , 10.1 , , .473 , , .400 , , .783 , , 1.0 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 10 , , 0 , , 14.9 , , .397 , , .125 , , .824 , , 1.1 , , 3.2 , , .5 , , .0 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 68 , , 2 , , 11.2 , , .400 , , .310 , , .770 , , .8 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 68 , , 0 , , 19.4 , , .429 , , .377 , , .865 , , 1.3 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 82 , , 3 , , 22.5 , , .419 , , .322 , , .877 , , 1.7 , , 3.6 , , .6 , , .0 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 5 , , 26.4 , , .413 , , .337 , , .921 , , 1.7 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 0 , , 25.7 , , .410 , , .346 , , .874 , , 1.4 , , 3.8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 4 , , 28.3 , , .413 , , .373 , , .908 , , 2.0 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .1 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 35 , , 19 , , 33.0 , , .427 , , .419 , , .886 , , 2.2 , , 4.5 , , .9 , , .0 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 36 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .355 , , .318 , , .831 , , .9 , , 2.7 , , .4 , , .0 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 67 , , 1 , , 16.7 , , .427 , , .317 , , .865 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 0 , , 15.1 , , .443 , , .380 , , .841 , , 1.0 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 8 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .333 , , .222 , , .867 , , 1.4 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , .0 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 652 , , 34 , , 19.9 , , .417 , , .348 , , .876 , , 1.3 , , 3.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 24.2 , , .444 , , .357 , , .857 , , 2.4 , , 3.8 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 1 , , 30.4 , , .397 , , .000 , , .895 , , 1.0 , , 3.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 28.0 , , .322 , , .211 , , .795 , , 1.4 , , 4.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 15 , , 1 , , 27.5 , , .389 , , .225 , , .837 , , 1.6 , , 3.9 , , .9 , , .1 , , 12.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 30 , , 32.5 , , .413 , , .343 , , .703 , , 2.4 , , 4.5 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 33.3 , , .432 , , .307 , , .804 , , 2.3 , , 5.8 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 36.3 , , .423 , , .300 , , .852 , , 2.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.9 , , .0 , , 19.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 36.9 , , .472 , , .407 , , .816 , , 2.3 , , 5.5 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , 25.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 122 , , 122 , , 34.8 , , .439 , , .353 , , .803 , , 2.3 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 18.1

Coaching career

In 2014, Boykins was hired as the head coach of the Douglas County High School boys varsity team in

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most-populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town’s population was 73,158 at the 2020 census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 census. Castle Ro ...

. He served as the director of student-athlete development for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

under head coach Eric Musselman from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, Boykins was hired as an assistant coach with the UTEP Miners. On May 30, 2025, Boykins joined the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

as an assistant for head coach Musselman.

References

External links

Italian A League player profileMy Life as a Little Man at SportsIllustrated.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykins, Earl 1976 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Ohio Basketball players from Cleveland Charlotte Bobcats players Cleveland Cavaliers players Denver Nuggets players Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball players FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Golden State Warriors players High school basketball coaches in Colorado Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Clippers players Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Milwaukee Bucks players New Jersey Nets players Orlando Magic players Point guards Rockford Lightning players Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Undrafted NBA players UTEP Miners men's basketball coaches Virtus Bologna players

Early life

College career

Professional career

First NBA stint

Italy

Return to NBA

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Coaching career

See also

References

External links