sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Walter Pearl Davis (born September 9, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a forward/guard for 15 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending the majority of his career with the Phoenix Suns. A six-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA Second Team member, and the NBA Rookie of the Year. Suns retired his No. 6 jersey.

Walter Davis

Davis in 1987
Personal information
Born	(1954-09-09) September 9, 1954 (age 68) Pineville, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	South Mecklenburg (Charlotte, North Carolina)
College	North Carolina (1973–1977)
NBA draft	1977 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career	1977–1992
Position	Shooting guard / Small forward
Number	6
Career history
1977–1988	Phoenix Suns
1988–1991	Denver Nuggets
1991	Portland Trail Blazers
1991–1992	Denver Nuggets
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 NBA statistics
Points	19,521 (18.9 ppg)
Assists	3,878 (3.8 apg)
Steals	1,280 (1.2 spg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1976 Montreal Team

High school and college career

Born in Pineville, North Carolina, Davis was the youngest of 13 children born between 1937 and 1954. His high school teams at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte won three state titles and lost only four games.After his senior year,he prepped at the Sanford School, Hockessin, DE, and made the All-State team in the 1973-74 season.

As a standout college player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was selected to play on the USA men's basketball team coached by UNC's Dean Smith that won the gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In his freshman year, Davis hit a buzzer-beating jump shot against Duke at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. At Chapel Hill, Davis was called "Sweet D" because of his seemingly effortless, smooth style of play and because of his strong defensive play.

NBA career

The Suns selected Davis with the fifth pick of the 1977 NBA draft. He made an immediate impact, playing in 81 games and averaging 24.2 points per game in his first season, which would also be his career-high. He won the 1978 Rookie of the Year Award, and earned second team All-NBA honors. Over his first ten seasons, Davis averaged over 20 points per game six times, and earned trips to six All-Star Games.

On February 25, 1983, Davis set an all-time NBA record when he successfully scored his first 34 points before finally missing a shot. He made his first 15 field goals and converted four straight free throws before missing a jumper with 55 seconds left in the game. Larry Costello formerly held the record, having made all of his attempts on his first 32 points for the Syracuse Nationals in 1961.[1]

Over his career, Davis averaged 18.9 points, 3.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. Davis was affectionately known as "The Greyhound" for his speedy style and sleek physical appearance. Suns broadcaster Al McCoy created many alternate nicknames for him, including "The Candyman", and "The Man with the Velvet Touch." Davis is the Suns' all-time leading scorer with 15,666 points.

Davis's later years with the Suns were marred by recurring back problems and an ugly drug scandal. In 1987, he was called on to testify on illegal drug use by other Suns players in exchange for immunity from prosecution. (He had twice entered rehab clinics to deal with cocaine addiction.)[2]

Davis's decline mirrored the short decline of the Suns franchise, and at the expiration of his contract in 1988 at age 33, the team did not seriously attempt to re-sign him, offering a 1-year contract at half his previous salary.

Davis signed a two-year, $1.35 million deal with the Denver Nuggets as an unrestricted free agent. He ended up playing for two years beyond this contract, and was included in a three-team trade in early 1991 that sent him to the Portland Trail Blazers for half a season. Davis finished 479 points shy of 20,000 points in a career.[3] In the summer of 1991, he returned to Denver to close out his playing career.

After basketball

Davis later served as a broadcaster for the Nuggets, and has served as a scout for the Washington Wizards. As time passed, Davis and the Suns repaired their relationship. In 1994, his No. 6 was retired by the Suns, and in 2004 he was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor.[4]

He is the uncle of UNC men's head coach Hubert Davis, who also played for UNC and in the NBA.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

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

Playoffs

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

See also

• List of National Basketball Association franchise career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association top rookie scoring averages

References

External links

• Career Stats
• Suns.com: Walter Davis page

На других языках

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[de] Walter Davis (Basketballspieler)

Walter Paul Davis (* 9. September 1954 in Pineville, North Carolina) ist ein ehemaliger US-amerikanischer Basketballspieler, der von 1978 bis 1992 in der nordamerikanischen Profiliga NBA aktiv war. Davis ist 1,98 Meter groß und lief meist als Small Forward auf.

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- [en] Walter Davis (basketball)

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[es] Walter Davis

Walter Paul Davis (nacido el 9 de septiembre de 1954 en Pineville, Carolina del Norte) es un exjugador de baloncesto estadounidense que jugó durante 15 temporadas en la NBA. Con 1,98 metros de altura, lo hacía en la posición de Escolta. En 1976 fue elegido para jugar con la Selección de baloncesto de Estados Unidos, dirigida por Dean Smith, las Olimpiadas de Montreal 1976, donde ganaron la medalla de oro.

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[fr] Walter Davis (basket-ball)

Walter Paul Davis (né le 9 septembre 1954 à Pineville, Caroline du Nord) est un ancien joueur professionnel américain de basket-ball. Arrière-ailier d'1,98m, Davis passa 15 années en National Basketball Association, la plupart aux Suns de Phoenix. À sa sortie de l'Université de Caroline du Nord, il fut sélectionné dans l'équipe américaine, dirigé par l'entraîneur de UNC Dean Smith qui remporta la médaille d'or aux Jeux olympiques d'été de 1976.

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[it] Walter Davis (cestista)

Walter Paul Davis (Pineville, 9 settembre 1954) è un ex cestista statunitense, professionista nella NBA. È lo zio di Hubert Davis.

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[ru] Дэвис, Уолтер

Уолтер Пол Дэвис (англ. Walter Paul Davis, род. 9 сентября 1954 года) — американский профессиональный баскетболист, большую часть карьеры проведший в клубе Национальной баскетбольной ассоциации «Финикс Санз». Будучи студент Университета Северной Каролины в Чапел-Хилл он был выбран для участия на летних Олимпийских играх 1976 года в составе баскетбольной команды, где завоевал золотую медаль.

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