Although best known for his ten seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, he also played for the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, and Toronto Raptors.

Because Bogues aspired to be a dental technician, he transferred to Baltimore's Dunbar High School which offered healthcare classes.

[10] Bogues received scholarship offers to play college basketball for several schools including Virginia, Penn State and Seton Hall.

In 1986–87, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference in steals and assists and received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award.

[16] Bogues played for the USA national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship and won the gold medal.

[17] Under head coach Lute Olson, Bogues played in all ten of the team's games and led them in assists and steals.

[22] Bogues made his NBA debut on November 6, 1987, against the Atlanta Hawks at Omni Coliseum; he started and led the team in assists.

[24] Bogues's playing time dropped dramatically when coach Kevin Loughery was fired and replaced with Wes Unseld.

[27] The following season, the Bullets left Bogues and Jay Murphy unprotected in the 1988 NBA expansion draft and he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets.

[25][28] Bogues told the Washington Post that he had "no quarrel" with the Bullets for leaving him unprotected and his agents reported that he was excited to start anew in Charlotte.

[25][28] In Charlotte's first season, head coach Dick Harter confined Bogues to the bench, preferring to use him to provide short bursts of energy as a substitute.

Harter was fired during the following season and Bogues began to flourish in the up-tempo offenses run by his successors, Gene Littles and Allan Bristow.

[30] However, in August 1995, after six consecutive seasons of an increasing scoring average, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Bogues returned to action in earnest the following season but missed 17 games and his production had dropped off slightly across the board.

In June, coach Dave Cowens suggested that Bogues should consider retiring due to his nagging knee injury.

[34] The trade made Dell Curry, Bogues' closest friend on the team,[5] the last remaining original member of the Hornets.

[36] He appeared in 36 games in the lockout-shortened following season, missing time due to hamstring and knee injuries as well as chickenpox.

[30][37][38] Prior to the 1999–2000 season, Bogues signed with the Toronto Raptors for the veterans' minimum,[39] reuniting him with longtime teammate Dell Curry.

[43] On February 22, 2001, he was traded with Mark Jackson to the New York Knicks for Chris Childs and a 2002 first round draft pick.

[44][45] On August 10, 2001, Bogues was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a three-team deal involving Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley and Glen Rice.

[50] His autobiography, In the Land of Giants, was released in 1994 and recounts the struggles of growing up in inner-city Baltimore and achieving success in the NBA.

[63] Bogues's sister, Sherron, worked for the Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks for 32 years until her death from cancer at age 55 in 2015.

[65][66][67] Bogues appeared in the movie Space Jam, as one of five NBA players (along with Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Larry Johnson, and Patrick Ewing) whose playing ability is stolen by the villainous Monstars.

[71] He made a cameo appearance on an episode of Saturday Night Live with Charles Barkley hosting and Nirvana the musical guest.

[73] Bogues appeared in "Rebound", the first episode of season 7 of Royal Pains, in which he attended a welcoming party hosted by Ms. "New Parts" Newberg.

[74] Bogues was interviewed for Baltimore Boys, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary that highlighted the Dunbar Poets high school basketball team.