Bill Cartwright

Bill Cartwright

Personal information
Born	(1957-07-30) July 30, 1957 Lodi, California
Nationality	USA
Listed height	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school	Elk Grove High School Elk Grove, California
College	San Francisco
NBA draft	1979: 3rd overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Position	Center
Career highlights and awards
1980 All-Rookie Team 1980 East All-Star Team
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

James William "Bill" Cartwright (born July 30, 1957 in Lodi, California) is a retired American NBA basketball player, a 7'1" (2.16 m) center who played 16 seasons for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, helping the Bulls capture consecutive championships in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, and played college basketball at the University of San Francisco.

College career

Cartwright played his college ball at the University of San Francisco, and was a consensus second team all-American in 1977 and 1979. He graduated as the all-time leading scorer for the USF Dons, averaging 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Cartwright led San Francisco to three trips to the NCAA tournament, including a first round in the 1977 Tournament, and to the Sweet Sixteen in the 1978 and 1979 Tournaments. [1]

Year	Team W-L	G	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	RBs	Avg	Pts	Avg
1976	22-8	30	151	282	53.0	72	98	73.5	207	6.9	374	12.5
1977	29-2	31	241	426	56.6	118	161	73.3	262	8.5	600	19.4
1978	23-6	21	168	252	66.7	96	131	73.3	213	10.2	432	20.6
1979	22-7	29	268	443	60.6	174	237	73.4	455	15.7	710	24.5
Total	96-23	111	828	1406	58.9	460	627	73.4	1137	10.2	2116	19.1

NBA career

Player

Cartwright was the third overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft selected by the New York Knicks. As a member of the Knicks, he made his only NBA All-Star Game appearance in his rookie year of 1979-80. Cartwright averaged more than twenty points per game in his first two seasons for the Knicks. His playing time decreased during his time in New York, due to the 1985 NBA Draft selection of Patrick Ewing which changed Cartwright's role to that of a backup center.

On June 27, 1988 Cartwright was traded from the Knicks to the Chicago Bulls in return for Charles Oakley. The Bulls needed a tall center to counter the size in the NBA Eastern Conference, and complement the scoring of Michael Jordan and defense of Scottie Pippen. The Bulls were willing to part with Oakley, the leading rebounder in the NBA in the 1987 and 1988 seasons. [2] Three years later, the Bulls won their first NBA Title under the coaching of former Knick player Phil Jackson, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. The Bulls went on to win the NBA titles again in 1992 and 1993 with the same core team.

Michael Jordan retired after the 1993 season, and the Bulls were defeated by the Ewing led Knicks in the 1994 NBA Playoffs. Cartwright left the team as a free agent, and signed on with the Seattle SuperSonics, coached by George Karl. He only played in 29 games for the Sonics, and retired after the 1994-95 NBA season

As a member of the Bulls, he took an elbow to the throat during a game against the Indiana Pacers. As a result of a damaged larynx, he now has a slightly hoarse voice. Cartwright claims to know who did it, but he has declined to say who is responsible.

Relationship with Michael Jordan

The trading of Oakley for Cartwright didn't sit well with Michael Jordan. He commented in an interview, "Why are we trading a 24-year-old guy for a 34-year-old guy?" (even though Cartwright was actually 31 at the time of the trade) and referred to him derisively as "Medical Bill" in reference to his history of injuries. Oakley was Jordan's best friend (and, some would say, his enforcer and protector) on the Bulls and Jordan responded to the trade by intentionally throwing passes in games to Cartwright that he knew he couldn't handle. He would then complain about Cartwright causing him too many turnovers. He would also disrespectfully mimic Cartwright's unorthodox shooting style in practice.

The feud between Jordan and Cartwright came to a head, however, when Jordan started ordering teammates such as Sam Vincent and B.J. Armstrong not to pass the ball to Cartwright in the closing minutes of games. Upon hearing this, Cartwright privately confronted Jordan and threatened to end his basketball career if he ever heard about such things again. The two maintained a civil relationship from then on during Cartwright's tenure with the Bulls. Coach Phil Jackson, however, was careful to never have Jordan and Cartwright opposing each other at Bulls' practices.

Coach

A few years after his retirement, Cartwright was added to the Bulls once again as an assistant coach to Jackson where he once again made it deep through the playoffs, winning the title in 1997 and 1998. The Bulls went through significant changes following the 1998 season, with not only Jordan and Pippen leaving, but Tim Floyd taking over as head coach from Phil Jackson. The Bulls had a lengthy rebuilding effort, and Cartwright took over the Bulls' 37 games into the 2001-02 season, going 17-38 after the team's 4-23 start under Floyd and Bill Berry. The Bulls finished 21-61 on the year, and the following season Cartwright was promoted from interim head coach to permanent head coach. In 2002-03 the Bulls finished 30-52, but Cartwright lasted only 14 games into the 2003-04 season — going 4-10 — before being fired. Pete Myers and finally Scott Skiles coached the Bulls immediately following Cartwright's tenure.

In 2004, the New Jersey Nets hired Cartwright as an assistant coach where he currently works under Lawrence Frank.

External links

• Official NBA Bio
• Career Statistics
• Cartwright Relieved by Bulls