Satch Sanders

Last updated

Satch Sanders
Thomas Satch Sanders at NEBBHOF.jpg
Sanders in 2013
Personal information
Born (1938-11-08) November 8, 1938 (age 86)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Seward Park
(New York City, New York)
College NYU (1957–1960)
NBA draft 1960: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Drafted by Boston Celtics
Playing career1960–1973
Position Power forward
Number16
Coaching career1973–1978
Career history
As a player:
1960–1973 Boston Celtics
As a coach:
1973–1977 Harvard
1977–1978 Boston Celtics (assistant)
1978Boston Celtics
Career highlights
Career playing statistics
Points 8,766 (9.6 ppg)
Rebounds 5,798 (6.3 rpg)
Assists 1,026 (1.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Career coaching record
NBA23–39 (.371)
College40–60 (.400)
Record at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Basketball Hall of Fame

Thomas Ernest "Satch" Sanders (born November 8, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played his entire professional career as a power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sanders won eight NBA championships and is tied for third for the most NBA championships. He is also one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8–0 record in NBA Finals series. [1] After his playing retirement, he served as a head coach for the Harvard Crimson men's basketball team and the Boston Celtics. Sanders was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2011.

Contents

Career

Sanders with Boston mayor John F. Collins in the 1960s Satch Sander with Boston mayor John F. Collins.jpg
Sanders with Boston mayor John F. Collins in the 1960s
Sanders with the Boston Celtics Tom sanders celtics.jpg
Sanders with the Boston Celtics

After playing at New York University as a stand out collegian, he spent all of his 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Boston Celtics. He scored a career-high 30 points to go along with 26 rebounds in a 142–110 win over the Syracuse Nationals on March 13, 1962. [2] He was part of the eight championship teams in 1961–66, 1968 and 1969. In NBA history, only teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones have won more championship rings during their playing careers (three other teammates, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn and K. C. Jones, also won eight championship rings).

Sanders underwent knee surgery in 1970 after he injured his left knee during the last Celtics game for the regular season. [3] This immensely affected his ability to play afterwards. He announced he was ending his playing career in 1973. On March 20, 1968, a housing development group formed by Sanders (called the Sanders Associates) received a $996,000 FHA commitment through the Boston Rehabilitation Program (BURP) for the rehabilitation of 83 units in Roxbury, Massachusetts after local community activists (including Mel King) criticized BURP for a lack of sufficient community control and racial equity. [4]

Following his playing career Sanders became the basketball coach at Harvard University, a position he held until 1977. Sanders became the first African-American to serve as a head coach of any sport in the Ivy League. [5] In 1978, Sanders became the head coach of the Boston Celtics, taking over for former teammate Tommy Heinsohn. Sanders returned the following season; however after a 2–12 record he was replaced by Dave Cowens, who took on the role as a player-coach. In 1986, Sanders founded the Rookie Transition Program - the first such program in any major American sport. [6]

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

Regular season

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG
1960–61† Boston 6815.9.420.6705.70.65.3
1961–62† Boston 8029.1.435.7499.50.911.2
1962–63† Boston 8026.9.456.7387.21.210.8
1963–64† Boston 8029.6.417.7618.31.311.4
1964–65† Boston 8030.7.429.7458.31.211.8
1965–66† Boston 7226.3.428.7647.11.312.6
1966–67 Boston 8123.8.428.8175.41.110.2
1967–68† Boston 7825.4.428.7845.81.310.2
1968–69† Boston 8226.6.430.7337.01.311.2
1969–70 Boston 5728.4.443.8805.51.611.5
1970–71 Boston 177.1.364.8751.00.62.3
1971–72 Boston 8219.9.410.8164.31.26.6
1972–73 Boston 597.2.315.6571.50.52.0
Career91624.2.428.7676.31.19.6

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG
1961† Boston 1021.6.493.6258.40.78.9
1962† Boston 1431.4.431.8068.21.010.1
1963† Boston 1329.8.437.7747.41.59.8
1964† Boston 1030.2.362.6766.80.69.1
1965† Boston 1230.4.421.7218.51.613.3
1966† Boston 1729.4.483.7506.51.613.5
1967 Boston 916.0.344.4004.80.64.9
1968† Boston 1420.6.505.7624.50.98.3
1969† Boston 1513.1.438.7423.20.55.8
1972 Boston 1116.9.321.6192.40.94.3
1973 Boston 54.8.556.0001.00.22.0
Career13023.5.436.7165.81.08.8

References

  1. ↑ Berkman, Seth (June 19, 2016), "N.B.A. Finals Legend or Loser? Luck Is Often the Difference", The New York Times
  2. ↑ "Syracuse Nationals at Boston Celtics Box Score, March 13, 1962". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  3. ↑ "The North Jersey Record 23 March 1970". The Record. March 23, 1970. p. 28. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  4. ↑ Levine, Hillel; Harmon, Lawrence (1992). The Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions. New York: Free Press. pp. 120–121. ISBN   978-0029138656.
  5. ↑ "The Ivy Influence: Tom "Satch" Sanders". Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Satch Sanders Enters Basketball Hall of Fame". NBA.com. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.