Phil Chenier
![]() Chenier in 2011 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Berkeley, California | October 30, 1950
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Berkeley (Berkeley, California) |
College | California (1969–1971) |
NBA draft | 1971: Hardship round, 4th overall pick |
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets | |
Playing career | 1971–1981 |
Position | Shooting guard |
Number | 45, 30, 15 |
Career history | |
1971–1979 | Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets |
1979–1980 | Indiana Pacers |
1981 | Golden State Warriors |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career statistics | |
Points | 9,931 (17.2 ppg) |
Rebounds | 2,063 (3.6 rpg) |
Assists | 1,742 (3.0 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Philip Chenier (born October 30, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player, a guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ten seasons. He was also a television sports broadcaster for the NBA's Washington Wizards.
Early years
Born and raised in Berkeley, California, Chenier graduated from Berkeley High School and played college basketball at the University of California in Berkeley.
NBA playing career
Chenier was selected fourth in the 1971 NBA Hardship Draft by the Baltimore Bullets, and played for them for eight seasons, from 1971 to 1979. The franchise moved from Baltimore to Washington in 1973, after his second season.
Chenier was one of the better shooting guards in the NBA for the first six seasons in his career, but he suffered a back injury early in the 1977–78 season and had season-ending surgery. The Bullets went on to win the NBA title with Kevin Grevey as the shooting guard. Chenier was never the same player after that; he came back from his surgery late the next season, but never could crack the Bullets' starting lineup again.
Chenier was released by the Bullets after the 1978–79 season, and played briefly for the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors and retired after the 1980–81 season.
Chenier, who was a 1972 NBA All-Rookie Team selection, averaged 17.2 points per game for his career, and was named to three NBA All-Star teams.
In 2017, the Wizards announced that they would retire Chenier's number 45 jersey.[1] On March 23, 2018, Chenier's jersey was retired.[2]
Broadcasting career
Chenier, who got his start in television sports broadcasting with Home Team Sports back in 1985, has announced black college games alongside broadcasters Charlie Neil and James Brown for Black Entertainment Television. He was the color analyst for the Washington Bullets and Washington Wizards games on television from 1987 to 2017, with a final pairing for NBC Sports Washington alongside play-by-play commentator, Steve Buckhantz.
Personal
Chenier resides in Columbia, Maryland, with his family and his mother. He has two daughters, a son, and grandchildren. His son, Phil Jr., followed his father into basketball, and is a coach for Northwood High School's varsity basketball team. He also teaches financial literacy there.[3]
References
- ^ Steinberg, Dan (September 14, 2017). "Wizards will retire Phil Chenier's jersey". Washington Post. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
- ^ Buckner, Candace (March 23, 2018). "Phil Chenier 'humbled to the deepest' as Bullets jersey finds home in rafters". Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^ High school coach Phil Chenier, Jr. reference on Washington Wizards website
External links
- 1950 births
- Living people
- African-American basketball players
- American men's basketball players
- Baltimore Bullets (1963–73) players
- Basketball players from California
- Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni
- California Golden Bears men's basketball players
- Capital Bullets players
- Golden State Warriors players
- Indiana Pacers players
- Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
- National Basketball Association All-Stars
- National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- People from Columbia, Maryland
- Point guards
- Sportspeople from Berkeley, California
- Washington Bullets broadcasters
- Washington Bullets players
- Washington Wizards broadcasters