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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.
Earl Monroe
Career at a glance
Earl Monroe played 13 NBA regular seasons between 1967 and 1980, appearing in 926 games and averaging 18.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He played for 2 teams: Baltimore (1967–72, 328 games), New York (1971–80, 598 games). His best scoring season was 1968–69 with Baltimore: 25.8 points per game over 80 games.
Championship season: 1972–73 (New York). In the playoffs he appeared in 8 postseason runs (82 games, 17.9 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 17,400 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 Earl Monroe
Vernon Earl Monroe (born November 21, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for two teams, the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks, during his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Both teams have retired Monroe's number. Due to his on-court success and flashy style of play, Monroe was given the nicknames "Black Jesus" and "Earl the Pearl". Monroe was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. In 1996, Monroe was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and in 2021, Monroe was named as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
- Born
- November 21, 1944 (age 81) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
- Listed weight
- 185 lb (84 kg)
- Position
- Shooting guard / point guard
- High school
- John Bartram (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- College
- Winston-Salem State (1963–1967)
- NBA draft
- 1967: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
- Playing career
- 1967–1980
Career highlights and awards
- NBA champion (1973)
- 4× NBA All-Star (1969, 1971, 1975, 1977)
- All-NBA First Team (1969)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1968)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1968)
- NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- No. 15 retired by New York Knicks
- No. 10 retired by Washington Wizards
- NCAA College Division champion (1967)
- NCAA College Division Tournament MVP (1967)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–68 | Baltimore | 82 | — | 36.7 | .453 | — | .781 | 5.7 | 4.3 | — | — | 24.3 |
| 1968–69 | Baltimore | 80 | — | 38.4 | .440 | — | .768 | 3.5 | 4.9 | — | — | 25.8 |
| 1969–70 | Baltimore | 82 | — | 37.2 | .446 | — | .830 | 3.1 | 4.9 | — | — | 23.4 |
| 1970–71 | Baltimore | 81 | — | 35.1 | .442 | — | .802 | 2.6 | 4.4 | — | — | 21.4 |
| 1971–72 | Baltimore | 3 | — | 34.3 | .406 | — | .722 | 2.7 | 3.3 | — | — | 21.7 |
| 1971–72 | New York | 60 | — | 20.6 | .436 | — | .786 | 1.5 | 2.2 | — | — | 11.4 |
| 1972–73† | New York | 75 | — | 31.6 | .488 | — | .822 | 3.3 | 3.8 | — | — | 15.5 |
| 1973–74 | New York | 41 | — | 29.1 | .468 | — | .823 | 3.0 | 2.7 | .8 | .5 | 14.0 |
| 1974–75 | New York | 78 | — | 36.1 | .457 | — | .827 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 1.4 | .4 | 20.9 |
| 1975–76 | New York | 76 | — | 38.0 | .478 | — | .787 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1.5 | .3 | 20.7 |
| 1976–77 | New York | 77 | — | 34.5 | .517 | — | .839 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 1.2 | .3 | 19.9 |
| 1977–78 | New York | 76 | — | 31.2 | .495 | — | .832 | 2.4 | 4.8 | .8 | .3 | 17.8 |
| 1978–79 | New York | 64 | — | 21.8 | .471 | — | .838 | 1.2 | 3.0 | .8 | .1 | 12.3 |
| 1979–80 | New York | 51 | — | 12.4 | .457 | — | .875 | .7 | 1.3 | .4 | .1 | 7.4 |
| Career | 926 | — | 32.0 | .464 | — | .807 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 1.0 | .3 | 18.8 | |
| All-Star | 4 | 3 | 21.3 | .359 | — | .706 | 3.0 | 2.8 | .3 | .0 | 10.0 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Baltimore | 4 | — | 42.8 | .386 | — | .806 | 5.3 | 4.0 | — | — | 28.3 |
| 1970 | Baltimore | 7 | — | 42.7 | .481 | — | .800 | 3.3 | 4.0 | — | — | 28.0 |
| 1971 | Baltimore | 18 | — | 37.3 | .407 | .793 | 3.6 | 4.1 | — | — | 22.1 | |
| 1972 | New York | 16 | — | 26.8 | .411 | — | .789 | 2.8 | 2.9 | — | — | 12.3 |
| 1973† | New York | 16 | — | 31.5 | .526 | — | .750 | 3.2 | 3.2 | — | — | 16.1 |
| 1974 | New York | 12 | — | 33.9 | .491 | — | .855 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 17.4 |
| 1975 | New York | 3 | — | 29.7 | .267 | — | .818 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 14.0 |
| 1978 | New York | 6 | — | 24.2 | .387 | — | .611 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 9.8 |
| Career | 82 | — | 33.1 | .439 | — | .791 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 17.9 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 3″
- Weight
- 185 lb
- Position
- Shooting guard / point guard
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1967
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 2
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.
View the official NBA player profile ↗