Professional career
Free played for the San Diego Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association. He got his name from his days in Brooklyn, where a friend nicknamed him "World" because of his 44-inch vertical leap and 360 degree dunks. Free was known for his "rainbow" jump shots, referring to the extreme arc of the ball during the shot. He was also known for taking high risk shots and playing flamboyantly. During Free's time playing for the San Diego Clippers, fans would shout "shoot, shoot, shoot" whenever Free took possession of the ball. Free averaged 20.3 points per game over 13 seasons in the NBA.
Free began his career in the 1975–76 NBA season as a member of the 76ers, having been selected by the 76ers with the 23rd pick of the 1975 NBA draft. In the decisive game seven of the 1977 Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Sixers and the Boston Celtics, Free helped lead his team to victory with a game-high 27 points. The Sixers subsequently defeated the Rockets in the Eastern Conference Finals, but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1977 NBA Finals. [2] Following the 1977–78 NBA season, Free was traded to the Clippers for a future pick in the 1984 NBA draft that was ultimately used to select Charles Barkley. [3]
For both the 1978–79 and 1979–80 campaigns, George Gervin and Free were number 1 and 2 in the league in scoring. In 1979, Free led the Clippers to an improved 43–39 record, but they narrowly missed the playoffs. His best statistical season was 1979–80 with the Clippers, averaging 30.2 points per game, as well as 4.2 assists per game and 3.5 rebounds per game in 68 games. He was an All-Star that season as well, although the Clippers failed to make the playoffs again.
On August 28, 1980, San Diego traded Free to Golden State for Phil Smith and a first-round pick. [4] During the 1981-82 NBA season, Free would help the Warriors to a 45–37 record, leading the team in assists per game at 5.4 while also scoring 22.9 points per game (second on the team only to Bernard King’s 23.2 per game average). [5] However, despite their above .500 record, they would miss the postseason. On December 15, 1983, in the middle of the 1982-83 season, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team finished 23-59, but the team was 3-19 prior to the Free trade. Notably in the fall of 1983, after the Cavaliers made a multi-year deal for him, management and Free came up with the stunt to have him picked up by helicopter at Burke Lakefront Airport to fly to the Richfield Coliseum to an actual carpet awaiting him for a press conference. [6]
During the 1984–85 season, Free became the 39th player in league history to surpass 15,000 career points. [7] During that year, now on the Cavaliers, Free made the playoffs for the first time since he was on the 76ers, and averaged career-playoff-highs of 26.3 points and 7.8 assists per game, during a 3-1 first round loss to the Celtics. [8] In that series, Free led the Cavaliers to a 105-98 Game 3 win with a postseason-career-high 32 points. [9] He was allowed to depart the Cavaliers in free agency after 1986. In 275 games, he averaged 23 points and shot 45.4% from the field.
Free later played in the United States Basketball League (USBL) for the Miami Tropics after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers in March 1987. He was named the USBL Playoffs MVP after leading the Tropics to the title after scoring 30 points in the championship winning game against the Rhode Island Gulls. [10] Following the USBL season, he joined the Houston Rockets for the 1987–88 season, which was his last NBA season. For Free, the highlight of that season was November 12, 1987, when he scored 38 points against the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena and brought the Rockets back to win the game.
In 1991, Free had a comeback with Atlanta Eagles of the USBL, before retiring permanently. [11]
