Bruce Seals

Bruce A. Seals (June 18, 1953 – December 15, 2020) was an American basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Seals was drafted in the first round by the Utah Stars, playing two seasons in the ABA before being selected in the second round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. He played three seasons in the NBA.

Seals' career spanned five seasons, two leagues, primarily at the power forward position. He retired from the NBA in 1978 and went on to play in the Italian League.

In his later years, Seals worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, teaching inner city youth the power of the game. He had been with Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester since 1990.

Biography Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Seals attended high school at Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans. In the 1973 NAIA basketball tournament they would upset Sam Houston State University, 67–60, in the second round. At the time, the Bearkats were ranked first in the country in all college division polls and had gone 34 games, over a two-year period, without a loss. The Xavier Gold Rush would eventually lose in the semi-finals to Maryland-Eastern Shore 87–80. For his 1972–73 season, Seals would earn NAIA All American and Associated Press All American honors. Seals would leave Xavier after his Junior year to sign with the Utah Stars.

1973–74 season Seals was selected by the Utah Stars in the first round of the ABA draft. The Utah Stars had posted the best record in the ABA Western Division in the previous season (55–29 in the 1972–73 season).

In his first regular season with the Utah Stars, Seals played 78 games, averaging 17.4 minutes per game, with 7.0 points per game. The Utah Stars won the Western Division (51–33).

In the post-season, the Utah Stars defeated the San Diego Conquistadors to win the Western Division semifinals. Thereafter, they beat the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division finals. The Utah Stars lost the championship series, though, to the New York Nets. Seals contributed 89 points in the post-season over 15 games, playing 260 minutes for the Utah Stars, with 5.9 points per game.

1974–75 season In his second regular season with the Utah Stars, Seals played only 35 games, averaging 10.6 minutes per game, with 4.0 points per game. He was joined by a strong high school center the Stars drafted, Moses Malone. The Utah Stars finished in fourth place in the Western Division, an upset, with a record of 38–46.

In the post-season, the Utah Stars were defeated in the first round by the Denver Nuggets in a five-game series. While Seals played very little, he produced over a point per minute. He racked up 24 points in the post-season over 3 games, playing 41 minutes, with 8 ppg for the Utah Stars. Seals finished the season tied for the fourth highest number of personal fouls in the league, with 314.

1977–78 season Seals played 73 games for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1977–78 season. He averaged 18.1 minutes per game, with 7.8 points per game. He contributed a total of 571 points to the Seattle SuperSonics this season.

Seals played very little in the post-season, playing in 9 games, but only racking up 92 minutes on the court. He contributed a total of 27 points for the Seattle SuperSonics in the post-season.

While Seattle boasted the third highest ranked defense in the NBA at the close of the season, they also represented the second worst offensive ranking among twenty-two teams. Hollingsworth, a point guard, played women's basketball for the Division I-A Arizona Wildcats in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) through the 2006–07 season.

Seals continued to be involved in basketball as an assistant coach at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, under head coach Hank Smith after the 1994–95 season.

Seals died on December 15, 2020, at the age of 67.