Yeah height definitely helps man. You know what Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan had in common apart from being legends of the game? All struggled with basketball early because of their lack of height. All of them were finally given chances once they had growth spurts.

Dennis Rodman
While attending South Oak Cliff High School, Rodman played under future Texas A&M coach Gary Blair.[5] However, Rodman was not considered an athletic standout. According to himself, he was "unable to hit a layup" and was listed in the high school basketball teams, but was either benched or cut from the squads. Measuring only 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) as a freshman in high school,[4] he also failed to make the football teams and was "totally devastated".[8] After finishing school, Rodman worked as an overnight janitor at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. He experienced a sudden growth spurt, and decided to give basketball another shot.[10]

Charles Barkley
As a junior, Barkley stood 5'10" (1.78 m) and weighed 220 pounds (99.8 kg). He failed to make the varsity team and was named as a reserve. However, during the summer Barkley grew to 6'4" and earned a starting position on the varsity team in his senior year. He averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds per game and led his team to a 26-3 record en route to the state semifinals.[7] Despite his improvement, Barkley garnered no attention from college scouts until the state high school semifinals, where he scored 26 points against Alabama's most highly recruited player, Bobby Lee Hurt.[7]

Michael Jordan
Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend, Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team.[5]
Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point games.[5] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm)[1] and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play.[6][7] As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team[8] after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists.[9]

Makes you wonder how common this actually is. I'm sure there's been plenty more talented players that just gave up basketball because they were sick of always having to go against the odds. You can still make it as a short player in the game but you just need to be really good!!!

under 6 ft in shoes, they all ;lie about their heights anyway

Ty Lawson?

Same with Scottie Pippen, had a late growth spurt in college after not being able to make the team. Pippen started out as the teams towel boy until a growth spurt got him on to the team, the rest is history.

Because shooters above 6'5 are able to get their shot off easier, players much smaller then that struggle against taller players if they're just a shooter, plus they suck more defensively if they're that short.

Spud Webb.

^^^ Go tell Allen Iverson, Eric Gordon, Monta Ellis, Jason Terry and others that they have to be 6'4

NBA players heights are in shoes, except in Durant and Garnett's case, they insisted to be labelled w/out shoes measurement. But Barea is no way 6'0, he's around Nate Robinson height.
btw Allen Iverson is only out of the league today because of his clashing attitude and refusal to accept a role on a team.
These tiny players may be able to shoot but teams want to them to be able to shoot and penetrate, Barea is the perfect model of this and hold their own defensively. Most of these guys just can't play defense and if your short, can't penetrate, it's incredibly easy to get shut down.