Walt Bellamy

Walt Bellamy

No. 8
Center
Personal information
Date of birth	July 24, 1939 (1939-07-24)
Place of birth	New Bern, North Carolina
Nationality	American
High school	J.T. Barber
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College	Indiana (1958–1961)
NBA Draft	1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Chicago Packers
Pro career	1961–1974
Career history
1961–1963	Chicago Packers / Zephyrs
1963–1965	Baltimore Bullets
1965–1968	New York Knicks
1968–1970	Detroit Pistons
1970–1974	Atlanta Hawks
1974	New Orleans Jazz
Career highlights and awards
4× NBA All-Star (1962–1965) NBA Rookie of the Year (1962) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1961)
Career statistics
Points	20,941 (20.1 ppg)
Rebounds	14,241 (13.7 rpg)
Assists	2,544 (2.4 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals Men's basketball Competitor for the United States Olympic Games Gold 1960 Rome Team competition

Walter Jones Bellamy (born July 24, 1939, in New Bern, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player.

College career

Bellamy left Indiana University with the most rebounds in a career with 1,088 in only 70 games, while averaging 15.5 a game. Averaging 20.5 points a game and shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, Bellamy was named an All-American in both his junior and senior year.

The 1960 Olympics

Bellamy was the starting center on the gold medal-winning American basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics. 10 of the 12 college players on the undefeated American squad went on to play professionally in the NBA, including fellow Big Ten player, Terry Dischinger, and fellow future Hall-of-Famers Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry Lucas.

NBA career

Bellamy had a stellar 14-year career in the NBA, and was the NBA first overall draft pick in 1961. Bellamy was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1962 after having arguably one of the three greatest rookie seasons in NBA history (along with Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). His 31.6 points per game average that season is second all-time for a rookie to Wilt Chamberlain's 37.6, and the 19 rebounds per game he averaged that season is third best all-time for a rookie (to Chamberlain's 27 and Russell's 19.6). Bellamy also led the NBA in field goal percentage in his rookie season, and had a 23-point, 17-rebound performance in the 1962 NBA All-Star Game. Bellamy played with the Chicago Packers, which became the Baltimore Bullets for his first four seasons before he was traded to the New York Knicks a few games into the 1965-66 season.

Due to trades to teams with offset game schedules during the 1968-69 season when he was traded from the Knicks to the Detroit Pistons for Dave DeBusschere, Bellamy set a still-standing record for NBA games played in a single season with 88 (He played 35 games with the Knicks, 53 with the Pistons). He later played for several seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and finished his career with the New Orleans Jazz.

Bellamy ended his NBA career with 20,941 points and 14,241 rebounds, and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Despite being one of the league's top rebounders, Bellamy never made an All-NBA team.

Personal life

Bellamy is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. His half-brother is professional boxer Ron Bellamy.

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders

External links

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile for Walt Bellamy
• Walt Bellamy's NBA career stats