Spencer Haywood

Infobox NBA Player
name = Spencer Haywood


caption =
position = Power forward/Center
nickname = Wood
height_ft = 6
height_in = 9
weight_lb = 225
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1949|4|22
birth_place = Silver City, Mississippi
college = University of Detroit, Trinidad State JC (Colorado)
draft = 2nd round
draft_year = 1971
draft_team = Buffalo Braves
career_start 1969
career_end = 1983
former_teams = Denver Rockets (ABA) (1969-1970) (signed as free agent)
Seattle SuperSonics (1971-1974)
New York Knicks (1975-1978)
New Orleans Jazz (1979)
Los Angeles Lakers (1979-1980)
Washington Bullets (1980-1983)
Reyer Venezia, Italy (1981-1982)

awards = Gold Medalist, 1968 Olympics, United States Basketball Team

Spencer Haywood (born April 22 1949, in Silver City, Mississippi) is a retired American professional basketball player.

High school

In 1964, Haywood moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he attended Pershing High School. In 1967, Haywood led the school to the state championship. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003588112_haywoodtimeline25.html Spencer Haywood timeline] ]

College and Olympics

Haywood attended Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado during the 1967-68 college season, where he averaged 28.2 points and 22.1 rebounds per game. Due to his exceptional performance and talent, Haywood made the USA Olympic Basketball team in 1968. Haywood was the leading scorer on the USA's gold medal winning basketball team during the 1968 Olympics at 16.1 points per game, and he set a USA field goal percentage record of .719 [ [http://www.usabasketball.com/history/moly_1968.html Games of the XIXth Olympiad -- 1968] ] .

Haywood transferred to the University of Detroit later that year, and led the NCAA in rebounding with a 21.5 average per game while scoring 32.1 points per game during the 1968-69 season. He decided to turn pro after his sophomore year, but National Basketball Association (NBA) rules, which then required a player to wait until his class graduated, prohibited him from entering the league. As a result, he joined the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association (ABA).

ABA rookie season

Haywood led the ABA in scoring at 30.0 points per game and rebounding at 19.5 rebounds per game. He was named both the ABA Rookie of the Year and ABA MVP in his rookie season (1969-70), and became the youngest ever recipient of the MVP at the age of 21. His 986 field goals made, 1,637 rebounds, and 19.5 rebound per game average are the all-time ABA records for a season.cite book | title = The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia, | publisher = Villard Books | date = 1994 | pages = pp. 208-209 | isbn = 0-679-43293-8] Haywood also won the ABA's 1970 All-Star Game MVP that year with a strong 23 point, 19 rebound, and 7 blocked shot performance for the West team.cite book | title = The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia, | publisher = Villard Books | date = 1994 | pages = p. 240 | isbn = 0-679-43293-8]

NBA career

In 1970, after forcing his way into the NBA through legal action (in a case, "Haywood v. National Basketball Assn.", that went all the way to the US Supreme Court), Haywood joined the Seattle SuperSonics. Haywood's court victory was bittersweet, however. During his first season with Seattle, Haywood was booed at several NBA arenas. At one arena, the public-address announcer even went so far as to announce "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an illegal player on the court (referring to Haywood)," during pre-game introductions.

Haywood was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1972 and 1973 and the All-NBA Second Team in 1974 and 1975. Haywood's 29.2 points per game in the 1972-73 season and 13.4 rebounds per game in 1973-74 are still the single-season record averages for the SuperSonics for these categories. Haywood played in four NBA All-Star Games while with Seattle, including a strong 23 point 11 rebound performance in 1974. In the 1974-75 season, he helped lead the SuperSonics to their first playoff berth. Overall, during his five seasons with Seattle, Haywood averaged 24.9 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game.

In 1975, the SuperSonics traded him to the New York Knicks where he teamed with Bob McAdoo. Haywood later played for the New Orleans Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, and Washington Bullets. He earned a championship ring with the Lakers in the 1979-80 season, but didn't play any of their post-season games due to a suspension for illegal drug use. He was previously married to Somali supermodel Iman.

Haywood's #24 jersey was retired by the SuperSonics during a halftime ceremony on February 26, 2007. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2780970 Sonics retire No. 24 worn by Haywood, Johnson] , Feb. 27, 2007]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=HAYWOSP01 Career statistics]
* [http://blacksportsnetwork.com/articles/qa/The%20Wood_060806.asp Spoken Word: Spencer Haywood Interview with Michael Tillery of Blacksportsnetwork.com]