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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Calvin Murphy
Career at a glance
Calvin Murphy played 13 NBA regular seasons between 1970 and 1983, appearing in 1,002 games and averaging 17.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He played for 2 teams: San Diego (1970–71, 82 games), Houston (1971–83, 920 games). His best scoring season was 1977–78 with Houston: 25.6 points per game over 76 games.
In the playoffs he appeared in 6 postseason runs (51 games, 18.5 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 18,000 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 Calvin Murphy
Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara University, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in the National Basketball Association as a guard for the San Diego/Houston Rockets from 1970 to 1983. He is currently a member of the Houston Rockets' Space City Home Network broadcast team. Standing at a height of 5feet 9inches (1.75m), Murphy has the distinction of being the shortest NBA player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and to play in an NBA All-Star Game (the latter since tied by Isaiah Thomas in 2016).
- Born
- May 9, 1948 (age 78) Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.
- Listed height
- 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
- Listed weight
- 165 lb (75 kg)
- Position
- Point guard
- High school
- Norwalk (Norwalk, Connecticut)
- College
- Niagara (1967–1970)
- NBA draft
- 1970: 2nd round, 18th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1970–1983
Career highlights and awards
- NBA All-Star (1979)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1971)
- No. 23 retired by Houston Rockets
- 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1969, 1970)
- Consensus second-team All-American (1968)
- No. 23 retired by Niagara Purple Eagles
- Mr. Basketball USA (1966)
- First-team Parade All-American (1966)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | San Diego | 82 | – | 24.6 | .458 | – | .820 | 3.0 | 4.0 | – | – | 15.8 |
| 1971–72 | Houston | 82 | – | 31.0 | .455 | – | .890 | 3.1 | 4.8 | – | – | 18.2 |
| 1972–73 | Houston | 77 | – | 22.0 | .465 | – | .888 | 1.9 | 3.4 | – | – | 13.0 |
| 1973–74 | Houston | 81 | – | 36.1 | .522 | – | .868 | 2.3 | 7.4 | 1.9 | .0 | 20.4 |
| 1974–75 | Houston | 78 | – | 32.2 | .484 | – | .883 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 1.6 | .1 | 18.7 |
| 1975–76 | Houston | 82 | – | 36.5 | .493 | – | .907 | 2.5 | 7.3 | 1.8 | .1 | 21.0 |
| 1976–77 | Houston | 82 | – | 33.7 | .490 | – | .886 | 2.1 | 4.7 | 1.8 | .1 | 17.9 |
| 1977–78 | Houston | 76 | – | 38.2 | .491 | – | .918 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 1.5 | .0 | 25.6 |
| 1978–79 | Houston | 82 | – | 35.9 | .496 | – | .928 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 1.4 | .1 | 20.2 |
| 1979–80 | Houston | 76 | – | 35.2 | .493 | .040 | .897 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 1.9 | .1 | 20.0 |
| 1980–81 | Houston | 76 | – | 26.5 | .492 | .235 | .958* | 1.1 | 2.9 | 1.5 | .1 | 16.7 |
| 1981–82 | Houston | 64 | 0 | 18.8 | .427 | .063 | .909 | 1.0 | 2.5 | .7 | .0 | 10.2 |
| 1982–83 | Houston | 64 | 0 | 22.2 | .447 | .286 | .920 | 1.2 | 2.5 | .9 | .1 | 12.8 |
| Career | 1,002 | – | 30.5 | .482 | .139 | .892 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 1.5 | .1 | 17.9 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 15.0 | .600 | – | – | 1.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 6.0 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Houston | 8 | – | 38.1 | .462 | – | .895 | 2.4 | 5.6 | 1.8 | .1 | 24.4 |
| 1977 | Houston | 12 | – | 35.0 | .479 | – | .933 | 1.6 | 6.3 | 1.6 | .2 | 19.3 |
| 1979 | Houston | 2 | – | 36.5 | .290 | – | .889 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | .5 | 13.0 |
| 1980 | Houston | 7 | – | 37.9 | .537 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 1.6 | .0 | 18.7 |
| 1981 | Houston | 19 | – | 28.4 | .495 | .286 | .967 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 1.4 | .0 | 18.1 |
| 1982 | Houston | 3 | – | 19.0 | .227 | .000 | .875 | 1.0 | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | 5.7 |
| Career | 51 | – | 32.5 | .475 | .286 | .932 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 1.5 | .1 | 18.5 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 5′ 9″
- Weight
- 165 lb
- Position
- Point guard
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1970
- Draft pick
- Round 2 · Pick 18
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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