American professional basketball player
Jim McMillian
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Jim_McMillian_Bologna.jpg/220px-Jim_McMillian_Bologna.jpg) |
|
Born
| (
1948-03-11
)
March 11, 1948
Raeford, North Carolina
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| May 16, 2016
(
2016-05-17
)
(aged 68)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
, U.S.
|
---|
Listed height
| 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
|
---|
Listed weight
| 215 lb (98 kg)
|
---|
|
High school
| Thomas Jefferson
(
Brooklyn, New York
)
|
---|
College
| Columbia
(1967?1970)
|
---|
NBA draft
| 1970
: 1st round, 13th overall pick
|
---|
Selected by the
Los Angeles Lakers
|
Playing career
| 1970?1981
|
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Position
| Small forward
|
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Number
| 5
|
---|
|
1970
?
1973
| Los Angeles Lakers
|
---|
1973
?
1976
| Buffalo Braves
|
---|
1976
?
1978
| New York Knicks
|
---|
1978?1979
| Portland Trail Blazers
|
---|
1979?1981
| Sinudyne Bologna
|
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|
---|
|
|
|
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|
Points
| 8,736 (13.8 ppg)
|
---|
Rebounds
| 3,319 (5.3 rpg)
|
---|
Assists
| 1,557 (2.5 apg)
|
---|
|
---|
Stats
at NBA.com
|
Stats
at Basketball-Reference.com
|
|
James M. McMillian
(March 11, 1948 ? May 16, 2016) was an American professional
basketball
player. After starring at Thomas Jefferson High School in
Brooklyn
, McMillian played college basketball at
Columbia University
. He led Columbia to a three-year mark of 63?14, and their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1968, his sophomore year.
[1]
The tourney ended with a third-place finish for Columbia in the East regional, and Columbia ended that 1967?68 season the sixth-ranked college team in the nation.
"Jimmy Mac" not only was a three-time All-American and All-Ivy Leaguer, he was All-East each year, the ECAC Sophomore of the Year, and became the first person ever to earn the
Haggerty Award
in each of his three varsity seasons. He is also kwown for doing a reverse behind the back layup in the 1972 nba finals winning them the championship in the end.
He scored 1,758 career points then a record, now second and averaged 22.9 points per game second-best then and now. McMillian is also second in career rebounds (743) and holds the season records for field goals in a season (253) and career (677). But despite their outstanding winning percentages, his Columbia teams managed only one Ivy League title in a period when they battled tough
Princeton
teams with
Geoff Petrie
and
John Hummer
and
Penn
teams with
Dave Wohl
and
Corky Calhoun
.
A 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall forward, he was drafted in the first round as the 13th overall pick by the
Los Angeles Lakers
of the NBA and was also a pick of the
Utah Stars
of the
ABA
. He chose the Lakers and spent three years there, scoring 3,714 points, an average of 15.3 per game. In 1972, he helped lead the Lakers to an NBA Championship, averaging 19.1 points per game in the playoffs. He was a key factor in the Lakers' record-setting 33-game winning streak that season. McMillian, who was in his second season that year, replaced
Elgin Baylor
at forward and the team immediately launched their streak. After the retirement of
Wilt Chamberlain
, the Lakers needed a center and traded McMillian to the
Buffalo Braves
for
Elmore Smith
. He later played for the
New York Knicks
and
Portland Trail Blazers
.
[2]
At the end of his career he moved to Italy and played for
Sinudyne Bologna
for two seasons winning two Italian titles and reaching the final of the European Champions' Cup in 1981 where he did not play due to a serious injury.
[3]
McMillian's younger brother,
Lloyd
, played college basketball for the
Loyola Marymount Lions
and
Long Beach State 49ers
.
[4]
McMillian died from complications of heart failure on May 16, 2016.
[5]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Jim McMillian, Key Player for Lakers Title Team, Dies at 68"
.
The New York Times
. May 17, 2016
. Retrieved
July 17,
2016
.
- ^
Wallace, Phil (February 8, 2001).
"McMillian Starred for Lion Teams, And in NBA"
. Columbia Daily Spectator
. Retrieved
July 17,
2016
.
- ^
"BATS web - Il Basket del Bats: formazioni del campionato italiano (1976-1980)"
. Il Basket del Bats
. Retrieved
July 17,
2016
.
- ^
Goldaper, Sam (December 13, 1976).
"Long Beach State Excels, As Does 'Other' McMillian"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
February 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Jim McMillian, 9-year NBA veteran with 4 teams, dies at 68"
. ESPN. May 17, 2016
. Retrieved
July 17,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]