Phil Chenier

Last updated

Phil Chenier
Phil Chenier.jpg
Chenier in 2011
Personal information
Born (1950-10-30) October 30, 1950 (age 74)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
College California (1969–1971)
NBA draft 1971: Hardship round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career1971–1981
Position Shooting guard
Number45, 30, 15
Career history
1971–1979 Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets
1979–1980 Indiana Pacers
1981 Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points 9,931 (17.2 ppg)
Rebounds 2,063 (3.6 rpg)
Assists 1,742 (3.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference

Philip Chenier (born October 30, 1950) [1] [2] is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) [3] for ten seasons. [4] He was also a television sports broadcaster for the NBA's Washington Wizards. [5]

Contents

Early years

Born and raised in Berkeley, California, Chenier graduated from Berkeley High School and played college basketball at the University of California in Berkeley. [6]

NBA playing career

Chenier was selected fourth in the 1971 NBA Hardship Draft by the Baltimore Bullets (as well as the Carolina Cougars in the 1971 ABA Special Circumstances Draft, the Virginia Squires in the 1973 ABA Senior Draft, and the New York Nets in the 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players), and played for the Bullets for eight seasons, from 1971 to 1979. The franchise moved from Baltimore to Washington in 1973, after his second season. [7] He was one of the better shooting guards in the NBA [8] for the first six seasons in his career, but he suffered a back injury early in the 1977–78 season and had season-ending surgery. [9] [10] The Bullets went on to win the NBA title with Kevin Grevey as the shooting guard. Chenier was never the same player after that; he came back from his surgery late the next season, but never could crack the Bullets' starting lineup again.

Chenier was released by the Bullets after the 1978–79 season, and played briefly for the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors and retired after the 1980–81 season.

Chenier, who was a 1972 NBA All-Rookie Team selection, averaged 17.2 points per game for his career, and was named to three NBA All-Star teams. [11]

In 2017, the Wizards announced that they would retire Chenier's number 45 jersey. [12] On March 23, 2018, Chenier's jersey was retired. [13]

Broadcasting career

Chenier, who got his start in television sports broadcasting with Home Team Sports back in 1985, has announced black college games alongside broadcasters Charlie Neil and James Brown for Black Entertainment Television. He was the color analyst for the Washington Bullets and Washington Wizards games on television from 1987 to 2017, with a final pairing for NBC Sports Washington alongside play-by-play commentator, Steve Buckhantz.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1971–72 Baltimore 81—30.6.415—.7373.32.5——12.3
1972–73 Baltimore 71—39.1.452—.7954.14.2——19.7
1973–74 Capital 76—38.7.434—.8205.13.12.0.921.9
1974–75 Washington 77—37.3.450—.8253.83.22.3.821.8
1975–76 Washington 80—36.9.483—.8274.03.22.0.619.9
1976–77 Washington 78—36.4.444—.8413.83.81.5.520.2
1977–78† Washington 36—26.0.443—.7902.82.01.0.314.1
1978–79 Washington 27—14.3.437—.643.71.1.1.25.8
1979–80 Washington 20—23.5.393.500.7562.22.1.9.310.1
Indiana 23—16.5.385.333.6921.52.0.7.45.4
1980–81 Golden State 9—9.1.333.3331.000.9.8.0.03.2
Career578—33.1.444.400.8063.63.01.6.617.2
All-Star3016.0.500—.5001.71.0.7.07.3

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1972 Baltimore 6—25.5.373—.8332.7.8——9.0
1973 Baltimore 5—42.2.506—.7504.23.4——17.8
1974 Capital 7—44.3.453—.8926.11.71.91.122.4
1975 Washington 17*—40.7.470—.8954.53.21.3.624.2
1976 Washington 7—37.9.438—.8243.71.6.9.418.0
1977 Washington 9—40.0.476—.8044.42.61.7.425.0
1979 Washington 9—10.8.217—.4550.91.0.3.02.8
Career60—34.8.450—.8453.82.21.2.518.1

Personal life

Chenier resides in Columbia, Maryland, with his wife Gerry Chenier. He has two daughters, one son and grandchildren.

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References

  1. ↑ "Phil Chenier Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  2. ↑ "NBA Players: Phil Chenier Profile and Basic Stats". www.landofbasketball.com. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Phil Chenier". NBA Stats. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Phil Chenier – National Basketball Retired Players Association". February 8, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Wizards will retire Phil Chenier's No. 45 jersey". NBC Sports Washington. September 14, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. ↑ Allen, Scott. "Phil Chenier on his jersey retirement: 'It's going to be a surreal kind of moment'". Washington Post.
  7. ↑ Lee, Albert (March 23, 2018). "Here are 5 facts on Phil Chenier's playing career". Bullets Forever. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  8. ↑ Abrams, Brett L.; Mazzone, Raphael (2013). The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC, Basketball. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-0-8108-8554-7.
  9. ↑ Bullets' Chenier Faces Back Surgery, web: The Sacramento Bee, 1978, retrieved March 13, 2023
  10. ↑ "Phil Chenier back injury Nov. '77". The Evening Sun. November 19, 1977. p. 10. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  11. ↑ Lee, Albert (March 23, 2018). "Here are 5 facts on Phil Chenier's playing career". Bullets Forever. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  12. ↑ Steinberg, Dan (September 14, 2017). "Wizards will retire Phil Chenier's jersey". Washington Post. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  13. ↑ Buckner, Candace (March 23, 2018). "Phil Chenier 'humbled to the deepest' as Bullets jersey finds home in rafters". Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
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