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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Billy Cunningham
Career at a glance
Billy Cunningham played 11 professional regular seasons (2 in the ABA, 9 in the NBA) between 1965 and 1976, appearing in 770 games and averaging 21.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He played for 2 teams: Philadelphia (9 seasons between 1965 and 1976, 654 games), Carolina (ABA) (1972–74, 116 games). His best scoring season was 1969–70 with Philadelphia: 26.1 points per game over 81 games.
He rebounded best in 1969–70 at 13.6 per game. Championship season: 1966–67 (Philadelphia). In the playoffs he appeared in 8 postseason runs (54 games, 19.6 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 16,300 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Billy Cunningham
William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid at the University of North Carolina for his leaping and record setting rebounding abilities. Cunningham spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (nine as player, eight as coach), and two seasons as a player with the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He was an NBA champion both as a player (1967) and as a head coach (1983). He was the sixth man on the 1966–67 76ers team that is considered among the greatest teams in NBA history; and head coach of the 1982–83 76ers team that is likewise considered one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
As a professional, Cunningham was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, an NBA All-Star, All-NBA First and Second Team, an ABA All-Star, All-ABA First Team, and the ABA Most Valuable Player. He was selected first-team All-NBA three consecutive seasons (1968 to 1971) and was voted the ABA's Most Valuable Player in the 1972–73 season; his first year in that league. He averaged a double-double over 11 professional seasons.
Cunningham played college basketball at the University of North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He was first-team All-ACC three consecutive seasons, the ACC Player of the Year in 1965, and received All-American recognition in 1964 and 1965. Cunningham was later named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty best players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He averaged a double-double in each of his three years at North Carolina.
- Born
- June 3, 1943 (age 83) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
- Listed weight
- 210 lb (95 kg)
- Position
- Small forward / power forward
- High school
- Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, New York)
- College
- North Carolina (1962–1965)
- NBA draft
- 1965: 1st round, 5th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1965–1976
Career highlights and awards
- NBA champion (1967)
- 4× NBA All-Star (1969–1972)
- 3× All-NBA First Team (1969–1971)
- All-NBA Second Team (1972)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1966)
- ABA MVP (1973)
- All-ABA First Team (1973)
- ABA All-Star (1973)
- NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- ABA All-Time Team
- No. 32 retired by Philadelphia 76ers
- First-team All-American – USBWA (1964)
- Second-team All-American – NABC, UPI (1965)
- ACC Player of the Year (1965)
- 3× First-team All-ACC (1963–1965)
- NBA champion (1983)
- 4× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1978, 1980, 1981, 1983)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–66 | Philadelphia | 80* | — | 26.7 | .426 | — | .634 | 7.5 | 2.6 | — | — | 14.3 |
| 1966–67† | Philadelphia | 81* | — | 26.8 | .459 | — | .686 | 7.3 | 2.5 | — | — | 18.5 |
| 1967–68 | Philadelphia | 74 | — | 28.1 | .438 | — | .723 | 7.6 | 2.5 | — | — | 18.9 |
| 1968–69 | Philadelphia | 82 | — | 40.8 | .426 | — | .737 | 12.8 | 3.5 | — | — | 24.8 |
| 1969–70 | Philadelphia | 81 | — | 39.4 | .469 | — | .729 | 13.6 | 4.3 | — | — | 26.1 |
| 1970–71 | Philadelphia | 81 | — | 36.9 | .462 | — | .734 | 11.7 | 4.9 | — | — | 23.0 |
| 1971–72 | Philadelphia | 75 | — | 38.6 | .461 | — | .712 | 12.2 | 5.9 | — | — | 23.3 |
| 1972–73 | Carolina (ABA) | 84* | — | 38.7 | .487 | .286 | .789 | 12.0 | 6.3 | 2.6 | — | 24.1 |
| 1973–74 | Carolina (ABA) | 32 | — | 37.2 | .471 | .125 | .797 | 10.3 | 4.7 | 1.8 | .7 | 20.5 |
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia | 80 | — | 35.7 | .428 | — | .777 | 9.1 | 5.5 | 1.1 | .4 | 19.5 |
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia | 20 | — | 32.0 | .410 | — | .773 | 7.4 | 5.4 | 1.2 | .5 | 13.7 |
| Career | 770 | — | 34.9 | .452 | .263 | .730 | 10.4 | 4.3 | 1.8 | .5 | 21.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Philadelphia | 4 | — | 17.3 | .161 | — | .846 | 4.5 | 2.5 | — | — | 5.3 |
| 1967† | Philadelphia | 15 | — | 22.6 | .376 | — | .656 | 6.2 | 2.2 | — | — | 15.0 |
| 1968 | Philadelphia | 3 | — | 28.7 | .558 | — | .824 | 7.3 | 3.3 | — | — | 20.7 |
| 1969 | Philadelphia | 5 | — | 43.4 | .419 | — | .632 | 12.6 | 2.4 | — | — | 24.4 |
| 1970 | Philadelphia | 5 | — | 41.0 | .496 | — | .667 | 10.4 | 4.0 | — | — | 29.2 |
| 1971 | Philadelphia | 7 | — | 43.0 | .472 | — | .701 | 15.4 | 5.7 | — | — | 25.9 |
| 1973 | Carolina (ABA) | 12 | — | 39.3 | .502 | .250 | .687 | 11.8 | 5.1 | — | — | 23.5 |
| 1974 | Carolina (ABA) | 3 | — | 20.3 | .290 | .000 | .800 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 1.3 | .0 | 7.3 |
| Career | 54 | — | 32.4 | .440 | .167 | .688 | 9.5 | 3.6 | 1.3 | .0 | 19.6 |
Per-game averages. † won an ABA or NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ league record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 6″
- Weight
- 210 lb
- Position
- Small forward / power forward
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1965
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 5
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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