gold star for USAHOF

8. Spencer Haywood

8. Spencer Haywood
Spencer Haywood challenged the rules of the National Basketball Association by declaring himself eligible for the draft after his sophomore season in college.  The NBA refused to allow him to play (as the rule at the time was that a player was not NBA eligible until the college class graduated) so he went to the upstart American Basketball Association and promptly won the league MVP as a rookie.  As you can imagine, somebody from the NBA would covet a talent like this, which was occurred when Seattle signed him anyway and a lawsuit went all the way to Supreme Court.  The NBA settled and the Sonics had a star.

As a member of the SuperSonics, Haywood would go to four straight All-Star Games and had four seasons where he averaged a double-double. His best season was in 1972-73 where he finished third in scoring with a 29.2 PPG with 12.9 Rebounds.  He would also make the postseason All-NBA team four times with Seattle.

After (what we felt was way too long) a lengthy wait, Haywood was finally inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, eight years after his number 24 was retired by Seattle.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Power Forward
  • Acquired: Spencer Haywood challenged the rules of the National Basketball Association by declaring himself eligible for the draft after his sophomore season in college. The NBA refused to allow him to play (as the rule at the time was that a player was not NBA eligible until the college class graduated) so he went to the upstart American Basketball Association and promptly won the league MVP as a rookie. As you can imagine, somebody from the NBA would covet a talent like this, which was occurred when Seattle signed him anyway and a lawsuit went all the way to Supreme Court. The NBA settled and the Sonics had a star. As a member of the SuperSonics, Haywood would go to four straight All Star Games and had four seasons where he averaged a double-double. His best season was in 1972-73 where he finished third in scoring with a 29.2 PPG with 12.9 Rebounds. He would also make the post season All-NBA team four times with Seattle. After (what we felt was way too long) a lengthy wait, Haywood was finally inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
  • Departed: Traded to the New York Knicks for Gene Short and a 1979 1st Round Pick (which would be James Bailey) 10/24/75.
  • Games Played: 326
  • Per Game Averages: 40.4 MP
    463 eFG%
    .813 FT%
    24.9 PTS
    12.1 RB
    2.4 AST
    0.8 STL*
    1.5 BLK*

    9 Playoff Games
    37.4 MP
    512 eFG%
    .831 FT%
    15.7 PTS
    9.0 RB
    2.0 AST
    0.8 STL*
    1.2 BLK*

    * Steals and Blocks became an official statistic in only the last two seasons that Haywood was with Seattle.
  • Advanced Stats: 20.1 PER
    .520 TS%
    5.2 VORP**
    38.0 WS

    12.9 PER
    .447 TS%
    -0.1 VORP**
    0.3 WS

    ** VORP became an official statistic in only the last two seasons that Haywood was with Seattle.
  • Major Accolades and Awards: First Team All-NBA (1971-72 & 1972-73)
    Second Team All-NBA (1973-74 & 1974-75)
    All-Star (1972, 1973, 1974 & 1975).

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