Billy Cunningham

For other people named William Cunningham, see William Cunningham (disambiguation).

Billy Cunningham

Cunningham with the Philadelphia 76ers
Personal information
Born	(1943-06-03) June 3, 1943 (age 80) New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, New York)
College	North Carolina (1962–1965)
NBA draft	1965: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career	1965–1976
Position	Small forward / power forward
Number	32
Coaching career	1977–1985
Career history
As player:
1965–1972	Philadelphia 76ers
1972–1974	Carolina Cougars
1974–1976	Philadelphia 76ers
As coach:
1977–1985	Philadelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards
As player: NBA champion (1967) 4× NBA All-Star (1969–1972) 3× All-NBA First Team (1969–1971) All-NBA Second Team (1972) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1966) ABA MVP (1973) All-ABA First Team (1973) ABA All-Star (1973) NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th) ABA All-Time Team No. 32 retired by Philadelphia 76ers New York City Basketball Hall of Fame inaugural class (1990) First-team All-American – USBWA (1964) Second-team All-American – NABC, UPI (1965) ACC Player of the Year (1965) 3× First-team All-ACC (1963–1965) As coach: NBA champion (1983) 4× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1978, 1980, 1981, 1983)
Career ABA and NBA playing statistics
Points	16,310 (21.2 ppg)
Rebounds	7,981 (10.4 rpg)
Assists	3,305 (4.3 apg)
Stats   at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Career coaching record
NBA	454–196 (.698)
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (nine as player, eight as coach), and two seasons as a player with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA.

One of basketball's all-time greats, Cunningham was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and honored by selection to both the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams as one of its legendary players, as well as to the ABA All-Time Team. He was further honored in 1990 when he was selected at as part of the 1st class to enter the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Cunningham was All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year, and an All-American in college, later named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty best players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. As a professional he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, an NBA All-Star, All-NBA First and Second Team, an ABA All-Star, All-ABA First Team, and the ABA Most Valuable Player. He was an NBA champion both as a player (1967) and as a coach (1983).

Early life

Billy Cunningham was born in the Parkville section of Brooklyn, New York. His fame began while he was playing at St. Rose of Lima and later Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, ^[1] where he was the MVP in the Brooklyn League in 1961. That year, he was the First-Team All-New York City, and a member of the Parade Magazine All-America Team.

College career

Cunningham while at UNC.

Cunningham then went to the University of North Carolina, where he excelled. He once grabbed a record 27 rebounds in a game vs. Clemson on February 16, 1963. Cunningham also set a single-game North Carolina record with 48 points against Tulane on December 10, 1964. In his UNC career, he scored 1,709 points (24.8 points per game), and grabbed 1,062 rebounds (15.4 rebounds per game). Upon graduation, his 1,062 rebounds were the best in North Carolina history and he held single-season records for most rebounds (379 in 1964) and rebound average (16.1 in 1963).

Honors and achievements

• 3-year letter winner (in his day, freshmen were ineligible for varsity athletics)
• All-Atlantic Coast Conference (1963–65)
• ACC Player of the Year (1965)
• All-ACC Tournament Team (1963–64)
• ACC Academic All-Conference (1965)
• A USBWA All-America (1964–65)
• Helms Foundation All-America (1965)
• Sporting News All-America 2nd team (1965)
• Team Captain (1965)
• Played in the East-West Game in 1965
• Played at the World University Games in 1965
• Named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team, honoring the fifty best players in ACC history (2002)

Professional basketball career

Phil Jackson (#18), Walt Bellamy (#8), Bill Cunningham (with ball), and Lucious Jackson (#54), in a Knicks vs. 76ers game.

In 1965, Cunningham joined the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. He played 80 games, primarily as a sixth man, while averaging 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. ^[2] At the conclusion of the season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team.

Cunningham was a member of the powerful 1967 Sixers championship team, which also featured Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Luke Jackson. In Game 2 of the 1967 NBA Finals, Cunningham scored 28 points during a 126-95 win over the San Francisco Warriors. ^[3]

After Chamberlain left the team in 1968, Cunningham became the 76ers' franchise player. He would replace the injured and aging Luke Jackson as the starting power forward of the team, and averaged 24.8 points per game and 12.8 rebounds per game during the 1968–69 season while leading the 76ers to 55 wins. After that season, he earned the first of what would be three straight All-NBA First Team selections.

Cunningham in 1972

On December 20, 1970, Cunningham scored 31 points and grabbed a career-high 27 rebounds en route to a 134–132 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers. ^[4]

Cunningham signed a three‐year contract on August 5, 1969 to begin play with the American Basketball Association's Carolina Cougars in 1971–72. Contending that the Cougars had reneged on paying the remaining $80,000 of a $125,000 signing bonus due on May 15, 1970, he reversed himself and signed a four‐year, $950,000 contract extension to stay with the 76ers through 1974–75 on July 15, 1970. The Cougars' attempt to file an injunction against him was denied in United States District Court on September 24, 1971. ^[5] The reversal of that judgment in the United States Court of Appeals 6+1⁄2 months later on April 5, 1972, meant that Cunningham was obligated to honor his Cougars contract until its expiration in October 1974. ^[6] He announced on June 15, 1972, that he was going to play with the Cougars beginning with the upcoming season at press conferences in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina which occurred almost simultaneous to the Sixers' introduction of Roy Rubin as its new head coach. ^[7]

In his first ABA season, Cunningham averaged 24.1 points per game, 12.0 rebounds per game, and led the league in total steals. He led the Cougars to the best record in the league and was selected to the All-ABA First Team and was named the ABA MVP. During the post-season, the Cougars defeated the New York Nets in five games in the Eastern Division Semifinals to advance to the Eastern Division Finals. In the Division Finals, the Cougars lost a tight seven-game series to the Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 3. In the 1973–74 season, Cunningham and the Cougars finished third in the Eastern Division and lost again to the Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals.

After the 1973–74 season, Cunningham returned to the 76ers, where he played until torn knee cartilage and ligaments ended his career as an active player early in the 1975–76 season. ^[8] For his career, he scored 16,310 points, grabbed 7,981 rebounds, and recorded 3,305 assists in both the NBA and the ABA. He recorded 14 triple doubles in the NBA and 5 in the ABA, good for 43rd all-time in the NBA and 5th in the ABA. ^[9] In 1996, Cunningham was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary. ^[10] In October 2021, he was also named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. ^[11] To commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Cunningham as the 66th greatest player in NBA history. ^[12]

Coaching career

He succeeded Gene Shue as head coach of the 2–4 76ers on November 4, 1977. ^[8] During his tenure, the team featured Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving. In his first playoff appearance, he led the Sixers to a 4-game sweep against the Knicks, ^[13] before bowing down to the Bullets in six games. He reached both the 300 and 400-win milestones faster than any coach in NBA history. He led Philadelphia to the playoffs in every year as coach, and advanced to the NBA Finals 3 times, in the 1979–80, 1981–82 and 1982–83 seasons. The 76ers lost to the Lakers in 1980 and 1982, but after acquiring Moses Malone, they finally got past the Lakers in 1983, winning the franchise's third (and most recent) NBA Championship as part of a 12–1 playoff run. Upon his retirement on May 28, 1985, ^[14] his 454 wins as a head coach were the 12th best in NBA history. He holds the second-best regular-season winning percentage in league history of .698 (only Phil Jackson is ahead of him). He is still the winningest coach in Sixers history.

Beyond playing and coaching

Cunningham joined the broadcast team for CBS in the 1976–77 season, often paired with Brent Musburger, leaving after the season ended to coach the 76ers. Cunningham would later rejoin the CBS broadcast team starting with the 1985–86 season, again often paired with Musburger, covering both the NBA as well as NCAA men's college basketball for the network. In 1987, Cunningham replaced Tom Heinsohn as the lead color commentator (alongside play-by-play man Dick Stockton) for CBS' NBA telecasts. Cunningham left CBS Sports the following season to join the Miami Heat expansion franchise as a minority owner; he ultimately sold his interest of the Heat on August 12, 1994. Cunningham was subsequently replaced on CBS by Hubie Brown, but would return to CBS to help fill in during the 1990 NBA Playoffs, partnered with Verne Lundquist. ^[15] He then returned for one last year to help cover the 1991 NCAA men's basketball tournament, partnered with Dick Stockton once again. ^[16]

Head coaching record

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Philadelphia	1977–78	76	53	23	.697	1st in Atlantic	10	6	4	.600	Lost in Conf. Finals
Philadelphia	1978–79	82	47	35	.573	2nd in Atlantic	9	5	4	.556	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Philadelphia	1979–80	82	59	23	.720	2nd in Atlantic	18	12	6	.667	Lost in NBA Finals
Philadelphia	1980–81	82	62	20	.756	2nd in Atlantic	16	9	7	.563	Lost in Conf. Finals
Philadelphia	1981–82	82	58	24	.707	2nd in Atlantic	21	12	9	.571	Lost in NBA Finals
Philadelphia	1982–83	82	65	17	.793	1st in Atlantic	13	12	1	.923	Won NBA Championship
Philadelphia	1983–84	82	52	30	.634	2nd in Atlantic	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
Philadelphia	1984–85	82	58	24	.707	2nd in Atlantic	13	8	5	.615	Lost in Conf. Finals
Career		650	454	196	.698		105	66	39	.629

ABA and 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
†	Won an NBA championship	*	Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1965–66	Philadelphia	80*	—	26.7	.426	—	.634	7.5	2.6	—	—	14.3
1966–67†	Philadelphia	81*	—	26.8	.459	—	.686	7.3	2.5	—	—	18.5
1967–68	Philadelphia	74	—	28.1	.438	—	.723	7.6	2.5	—	—	18.9
1968–69	Philadelphia	82	—	40.8	.426	—	.737	12.8	3.5	—	—	24.8
1969–70	Philadelphia	81	—	39.4	.469	—	.729	13.6	4.3	—	—	26.1
1970–71	Philadelphia	81	—	36.9	.462	—	.734	11.7	4.9	—	—	23.0
1971–72	Philadelphia	75	—	38.6	.461	—	.712	12.2	5.9	—	—	23.3
1972–73	Carolina (ABA)	84*	—	38.7	.487	.286	.789	12.0	6.3	2.6	—	24.1
1973–74	Carolina (ABA)	32	—	37.2	.471	.125	.797	10.3	4.7	1.8	.7	20.5
1974–75	Philadelphia	80	—	35.7	.428	—	.777	9.1	5.5	1.1	.4	19.5
1975–76	Philadelphia	20	—	32.0	.410	—	.773	7.4	5.4	1.2	.5	13.7
Career		770	—	34.9	.452	.263	.730	10.4	4.3	1.8	.5	21.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1966	Philadelphia	4	—	17.3	.161	—	.846	4.5	2.5	—	—	5.3
1967†	Philadelphia	15	—	22.6	.376	—	.656	6.2	2.2	—	—	15.0
1968	Philadelphia	3	—	28.7	.558	—	.824	7.3	3.3	—	—	20.7
1969	Philadelphia	5	—	43.4	.419	—	.632	12.6	2.4	—	—	24.4
1970	Philadelphia	5	—	41.0	.496	—	.667	10.4	4.0	—	—	29.2
1971	Philadelphia	7	—	43.0	.472	—	.701	15.4	5.7	—	—	25.9
1973	Carolina (ABA)	12	—	39.3	.502	.250	.687	11.8	5.1	—	—	23.5
1974	Carolina (ABA)	3	—	20.3	.290	.000	.800	5.3	2.0	1.3	.0	7.3
Career		54	—	32.4	.440	.167	.688	9.5	3.6	1.3	.0	19.6

Honors

• Elected to Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame (1986)
• Elected to New York City Basketball Hall of Fame (1990)
• All-NBA First Team (1969, 1970, 1971)
• ABA All Star, First Team (1973)
• All-NBA Second Team (1972)
• Four-time NBA All-Star
• Elected to the ABA's All-Time Team
• One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
• Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021)
• His number 32 jersey is retired by the Philadelphia 76ers; however, he agreed for it to be worn by Charles Barkley for the 1991–92 NBA season. Barkley had previously worn the number 34, but switched to 32 in honor of Magic Johnson, who had announced at the start of the season that he was HIV-positive.

See also

• List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders

References

1. "The Rumble", Paul Schwartz, New York Post , December 31, 2006. Accessed December 13, 2007. "The five Erasmus Hall of Fame legends include Raiders owner Al Davis, Bears quarterback Sid Luckman, Yankee pitching great Waite Hoyt, Billy Cunningham and Knicks founder Ned Irish."
2. Billy Cunningham Per Game Stats
3. 1967 NBA Finals Game 2
4. "Philadelphia 76ers 134 - Portland Trail Blazers 132". NBA.com Stats. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
5. Munchak Corporation v. Cunningham, 331 F. Supp. 872 (M.D.N.C. 1971)– Justia.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
6. Munchak Corporation v. Cunningham, 457 F.2d 721 (4th Cir. 1972). Retrieved November 29, 2020.
7. Goldaper, Sam. "Rubin Quits L. I. U. to Pilot 76ers," The New York Times, Friday, June 16, 1972. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
8. Goldaper, Sam. "Shue Ousted, Cunningham Named; N.B.A. Rosters Cut," The New York Times, Saturday, November 5, 1977. Retrieved December 1, 2020
9. "Billy Cunningham Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
10. "NBA at 50: Top 50 Players". NBA.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
11. "NBA 75th Anniversary Team announced". NBA.com .
12. "NBA 75: At No. 66, Billy Cunningham evolved into a game-changing scorer, playmaker — and more — for Sixers".
13. "1978 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
14. Goldaper, Sam. "Cunningham Quits; Loughery Dropped," The New York Times, Wednesday, May 29, 1985. Retrieved December 1, 2020
15. The NBA on CBS, April 28th, 1990
16. NCAA on CBS, March 14th, 1991

External links

• Billy Cunningham statistics