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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.
Walter Davis
Career at a glance
Walter Davis played 15 NBA regular seasons between 1977 and 1992, appearing in 1,033 games and averaging 18.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He played for 3 teams: Phoenix (1977–88, 766 games), Denver (1988–92, 235 games), Portland (1990–91, 32 games). His best scoring season was 1977–78 with Phoenix: 24.2 points per game over 81 games.
In the playoffs he appeared in 10 postseason runs (78 games, 18.6 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 19,500 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 Walter Davis
Walter Pearl Davis (September 9, 1954 – November 2, 2023) was an American professional basketball player. After his college years with the North Carolina Tar Heels he played as a forward/guard for 15 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending the majority of his career with the Phoenix Suns. Davis was a six-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA Second Team member, and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1978. In 1994, the Suns retired his No. 6 jersey and in 2004 he was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor. Davis' 15,666 points during his time with the Suns is the 2nd most in franchise history. In 2024, it was announced that Davis would be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Born
- September 9, 1954 Pineville, North Carolina, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
- Listed weight
- 193 lb (88 kg)
- Position
- Shooting guard / small forward
- High school
- South Mecklenburg (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- College
- North Carolina (1973–1977)
- NBA draft
- 1977: 1st round, 5th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1977–1992
Career highlights and awards
- 6× NBA All-Star (1978–1981, 1984, 1987)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1978, 1979)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1978)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1978)
- No. 6 retired by Phoenix Suns
- First-team All-ACC (1977)
- Second-team All-ACC (1976)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–78 | Phoenix | 81 | – | 32.0 | .526 | – | .830 | 6.0 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 24.2 |
| 1978–79 | Phoenix | 79 | – | 30.8 | .561 | – | .831 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 23.6 |
| 1979–80 | Phoenix | 75 | – | 30.8 | .563 | .000 | .819 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 21.5 |
| 1980–81 | Phoenix | 78 | – | 28.0 | .539 | .412 | .836 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 18.0 |
| 1981–82 | Phoenix | 55 | 12 | 21.5 | .523 | .188 | .820 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 14.4 |
| 1982–83 | Phoenix | 80 | 79 | 31.1 | .516 | .304 | .818 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 19.0 |
| 1983–84 | Phoenix | 78 | 70 | 32.6 | .512 | .230 | .863 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 20.0 |
| 1984–85 | Phoenix | 23 | 9 | 24.8 | .450 | .300 | .877 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 15.0 |
| 1985–86 | Phoenix | 70 | 62 | 32.0 | .485 | .237 | .843 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 21.8 |
| 1986–87 | Phoenix | 79 | 79 | 33.5 | .514 | .259 | .862 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 23.6 |
| 1987–88 | Phoenix | 68 | 48 | 28.7 | .473 | .375 | .887 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 17.9 |
| 1988–89 | Denver | 81 | 0 | 22.9 | .498 | .290 | .879 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 15.6 |
| 1989–90 | Denver | 69 | 0 | 23.7 | .481 | .130 | .912 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 17.5 |
| 1990–91 | Denver | 39 | 13 | 26.8 | .474 | .303 | .915 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 18.7 |
| 1990–91 | Portland | 32 | 1 | 13.7 | .446 | .333 | .913 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 6.1 |
| 1991–92 | Denver | 46 | 0 | 16.1 | .459 | .313 | .872 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 9.9 |
| Career | 1,033 | 373 | 27.9 | .511 | .272 | .851 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 18.9 | |
| All-Star | 6 | 1 | 18.2 | .455 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 9.8 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Phoenix | 2 | – | 33.0 | .475 | – | .750 | 8.5 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 25.0 |
| 1979 | Phoenix | 15 | – | 32.7 | .520 | – | .813 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 22.1 |
| 1980 | Phoenix | 8 | – | 30.6 | .504 | .000 | .737 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 20.8 |
| 1981 | Phoenix | 7 | – | 28.4 | .481 | .000 | .588 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 16.0 |
| 1982 | Phoenix | 7 | – | 24.7 | .448 | .333 | .917 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 18.1 |
| 1983 | Phoenix | 3 | – | 37.7 | .435 | .500 | .810 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 26.0 |
| 1984 | Phoenix | 17 | – | 36.6 | .535 | .273 | .897 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 24.9 |
| 1989 | Denver | 3 | 0 | 31.3 | .517 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 25.7 |
| 1990 | Denver | 3 | 0 | 23.3 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| 1991 | Portland | 13 | 0 | 8.5 | .396 | .000 | .833 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| Career | 78 | ? | 28.0 | .496 | .192 | .830 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 18.6 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 6″
- Weight
- 193 lb
- Position
- Shooting guard / small forward
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1977
- 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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