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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 7:43 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Tom Gola
Career at a glance
Tom Gola played 10 NBA regular seasons between 1955 and 1966, appearing in 698 games and averaging 11.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He played for 3 teams: Philadelphia (6 seasons between 1955 and 1962, 400 games), San Francisco (1962–63, 21 games), New York (1962–66, 277 games). His best scoring season was 1959–60 with Philadelphia: 15.0 points per game over 75 games.
He rebounded best in 1958–59 at 11.1 per game. Championship season: 1955–56 (Philadelphia). In the playoffs he appeared in 5 postseason runs (39 games, 11.1 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 7,900 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 Tom Gola
Thomas Joseph Gola (January 13, 1933 – January 26, 2014) was an American basketball player and politician. Gola was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He is widely considered one of the greatest NCAA basketball players of all time, playing four years with the La Salle Explorers (1951 to 1955). Gola was a consensus first-team All-American for three consecutive years. He has held the record for the most total rebounds in NCAA history since 1955, and was the first college player to have over 2,000 points and 2,000 rebounds in a career. Gola was the Helms Foundations College Basketball Player of the Year in 1954, and the United Press Player of the Year in 1955, as well as being the highest vote recipient for the Associated Press' 1955 All-America Team. He was selected the most valuable player in the 1952 National Invitation Tournament and the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament.
Professionally, Gola spent his most productive seasons with the Philadelphia Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he averaged a double-double three consecutive seasons and was an NBA All-Star three consecutive seasons; as well as being named to the second-team All-NBA. He was also named an All-Star twice more while playing for the New York Knicks.
Gola led his high school team to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship; his college team to the National Invitation Tournament championship and the NCAA championship; and was on the 1956 Philadelphia Warriors championship team, all in the space of six years. He is one of only two players to win NIT, NCAA, and NBA championships.
- Born
- January 13, 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
- Listed weight
- 205 lb (93 kg)
- Position
- Small forward / shooting guard
- High school
- La Salle College (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- College
- La Salle (1951–1955)
- NBA draft
- 1955: territorial pick
- Playing career
- 1955–1966
Career highlights and awards
- NBA champion (1956)
- 5× NBA All-Star (1960–1964)
- All-NBA Second Team (1958)
- NCAA champion (1954)
- NCAA Final Four MOP (1954)
- NIT champion (1952)
- Helms Foundation Player of the Year (1954)
- UPI Player of the Year (1955)
- 3× consensus first-team All-American (1953–1955)
- NIT Co-MVP (1952)
- No. 15 retired by La Salle Explorers
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955–56† | Philadelphia | 68 | 34.5 | .412 | .733 | 9.1 | 5.9 | 10.8 |
| 1957–58 | Philadelphia | 59 | 36.0 | .415 | .746 | 10.8 | 5.5 | 13.8 |
| 1958–59 | Philadelphia | 64 | 36.5 | .401 | .787 | 11.1 | 4.2 | 14.1 |
| 1959–60 | Philadelphia | 75 | 38.3 | .433 | .794 | 10.4 | 5.5 | 15.0 |
| 1960–61 | Philadelphia | 74 | 36.6 | .447 | .747 | 9.4 | 3.9 | 14.2 |
| 1961–62 | Philadelphia | 60 | 41.0 | .421 | .765 | 9.8 | 4.9 | 13.7 |
| 1962–63 | San Francisco | 21 | 39.1 | .457 | .758 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 13.0 |
| 1962–63 | New York | 52 | 35.5 | .460 | .784 | 7.1 | 4.3 | 12.0 |
| 1963–64 | New York | 74 | 29.1 | .429 | .726 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 9.1 |
| 1964–65 | New York | 77 | 22.4 | .448 | .739 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 7.0 |
| 1965–66 | New York | 74 | 15.2 | .450 | .781 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 4.4 |
| Career | 698 | 32.3 | .431 | .760 | 8.0 | 4.2 | 11.3 | |
| All-Star | 4 | 17.5 | .414 | .556 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 7.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956† | Philadelphia | 10 | 36.0 | .355 | .783 | 10.1 | 5.8 | 12.3 |
| 1958 | Philadelphia | 8 | 40.9 | .330 | .745 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 13.8 |
| 1960 | Philadelphia | 9 | 37.8 | .412 | .806 | 10.6 | 5.6 | 12.6 |
| 1961 | Philadelphia | 3 | 42.3 | .206 | .750 | 12.3 | 5.0 | 9.7 |
| 1962 | Philadelphia | 9 | 35.1 | .271 | .760 | 8.2 | 2.7 | 6.3 |
| Career | 39 | 17.5 | .336 | .771 | 10.0 | 4.6 | 11.1 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 6″
- Weight
- 205 lb
- Position
- Small forward / shooting guard
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- Not listed
- Draft pick
- Undrafted / not listed
Height, Weight, Position, Country: 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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