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Walt Bellamy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter Jones Bellamy (born July 24, 1939 in New Bern, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player.
Contents |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1960 Rome | Team | |
Bellamy was the starting center on the gold medal-winning American basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ten of the twelve college players on the undefeated American squad went on to play professionally in the NBA, including future Hall-of-Famers Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry Lucas.
Bellamy had a stellar 14 year career in the NBA and was the NBA first overall draft pick in 1962. Bellamy was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1962 after having arguably one of the three greatest rookie seasons in NBA history (along with Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). His 31.6 point per game average that season is second all-time for a rookie to Wilt Chamberlain's 37.6, and the 19.0 rebounds per game he averaged that season is third best all-time for a rookie (to Chamberlain and Bill Russell). Bellamy also led the NBA in field goal percentage in his rookie season, and had a 23 point 17 rebound performance in the All-Star Game.
Due to trade scheduling skews during the 1968-69 season, Bellamy set the still-standing record for NBA games played in a single season with 88.
Bellamy ended his NBA career with 20,941 points and 14,241 rebounds. Bellamy was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Bellamy is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. His half-brother is professional boxer Ron Bellamy.
| Preceded by Oscar Robertson |
NBA first overall draft pick 1961 NBA Draft |
Succeeded by Bill McGill |
| 1960 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball |
|---|
|
Jay Arnette | Walt Bellamy | Bob Boozer | Terry Dischinger | Burdette Haldorson | Darrall Imhoff |
| Coach: Pete Newell |
 |
This biographical article relating to a U.S. basketball player, coach, or other figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Categories: 1939 births | African American basketball players | Alpha Phi Alpha brothers | American basketball players | Atlanta Hawks players | Baltimore Bullets players | Basketball Hall of Fame | Chicago Packers players | Chicago Zephyrs players | Detroit Pistons players | Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players | Living people | New Orleans Jazz players | New York Knicks players | North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame | Olympic competitors for the United States | People from North Carolina | Indiana University alumni | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Basketball players at the 1960 Summer Olympics | Basketball centers | United States basketball biography stubs