Willie Naulls
| File:Willie Naulls.jpg
Naulls from 1956 UCLA yearbook
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 7, 1934 Dallas, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | San Pedro (San Pedro, California) |
| College | UCLA (1953–1956) |
| NBA draft | 1956 / Round: 2 / Pick: 9th overall |
| Selected by the St. Louis Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1956–1966 |
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| Number | 33, 6, 71, 12 |
| Career history | |
| 1956 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1956–1962 | New York Knicks |
| 1962–1963 | San Francisco Warriors |
| 1963–1966 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Points | 11,305 (15.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,508 (9.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,114 (1.6 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
William Dean "Willie" Naulls (born October 7, 1934) is a retired American basketball player. A 6'6" power forward/center, he played professionally in the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1966.
While attending San Pedro High School in San Pedro, California he was named as California Mr. Basketball in 1952.
After becoming an All-American[1][2][3] playing at UCLA, Naulls was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1956. He spent just 19 games with the Hawks, however, before being traded to the New York Knicks, with whom he would spend the prime of his career. He averaged a double-double (19.3 points per game, 10. 7 rebounds per game) during his seven-year tenure with the team, and he appeared as an NBA All-Star four times. While with the Knicks, Naulls was also the first African-American player to be named captain of a major professional sports team.
During the 1962-63 NBA season, the Knicks traded Naulls to the San Francisco Warriors, who then traded Naulls to the Boston Celtics. Naulls would spend his last three professional seasons with the Celtics, winning three NBA Championship rings in the process. He was a member of the 1964-1965 Celtics team that was named one of the ten best teams in the NBA at the 50th anniversary of the association.[4] Upon retiring in 1966, he had tallied 11,305 career points and 6,508 career rebounds.
On February 24, 2005, Naulls, Campy Russell, and Kenny Walker were honored by the Knicks during their "Hardwood Classics Night."
References
- ↑ AP All-America Teams
- ↑ NCAA Basketball's Finest - All-Americans (UPI, Look, NEA, Collier's & International News Service) p.208
- ↑ NCAA Record Book - Award Winners p.137. Accessed 2009-05-05. Archived 2009-05-04.
- ↑ *Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Career stats at basketball-reference.com
- Where Are They Now? at nba.com
- UCLA Bruins sports - Men's basketball media guide
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- Pages with broken file links
- 1934 births
- Living people
- African-American basketball players
- Basketball players from California
- Basketball players from Texas
- Boston Celtics players
- Centers (basketball)
- National Basketball Association All-Stars
- New York Knicks players
- Power forwards (basketball)
- San Francisco Warriors players
- Sportspeople from Dallas, Texas
- St. Louis Hawks draft picks
- St. Louis Hawks players
- UCLA Bruins men's basketball players
