George Wilson

George Wilson (May 9, 1942 – July 29, 2023) was an American professional basketball player. Wilson played as a center for the Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers, and Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1964 to 1971. Before turning professional, he played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats and won a gold medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Early life Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 9, 1942, and grew up on the west side of Chicago. He attended Marshall High School and led the Commandos basketball team as a center to four straight appearances in the Chicago Public League, winning the Illinois state championships in 1958 and 1960.

As a senior, he was named a high school All-American after three seasons of averaging 25, 27, and 26 points per game, and in 1960 he was the inaugural winner of the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year award. Wilson was named All-State three years. and the first team in 1960.

College career Recruited by many colleges, he chose to attend the University of Cincinnati primarily because of his admiration of Bearcats star Oscar Robertson.

As a junior in 1962–63, Wilson led the Bearcats with 11.2 rebounds per game, a .505 field goal percentage and 1.4 blocked shots to go with 15.0 points per game. In November 1966, the Royals traded Wilson to the Chicago Bulls for Len Chappell. He played as a backup for the Bulls, focusing on defense and rebounding.

The Seattle SuperSonics acquired Wilson from the Bulls in the 1967 NBA expansion draft. He played as a reserve forward for the inaugural SuperSonics and averaged 6.1 points per game. The following year, the Phoenix Suns acquired Wilson from the SuperSonics in the 1968 NBA expansion draft.

Playing for the Suns, Wilson saw the most playing time of his professional career and averaged 11.6 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game with them. He played for the 76ers as a reserve while Lucious Jackson was injured. The Buffalo Braves selected Wilson from the 76ers in the 1970 NBA expansion draft. He retired from the NBA in 1971.

Personal life Wilson graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1964 with a degree in education. He was also a member of the Beta Eta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG Cincinnati 39 7.4 .265 .300 2.6 .3 2.3 Cincinnati 47 5.9 .391 .643 2.1 .4 2.9 Cincinnati 12 10.4 .195 .813 3.6 .0 2.4 Chicago 43 10.4 .399 .643 3.8 .3 4.6 Seattle 77 16.1 .359 .703 6.1 .7 6.1 Phoenix 41 31.6 .397 .616 12.3 1.9 11.6 Philadelphia 38 14.5 .445 .714 5.7 .8 5.8 Philadelphia 67 12.5 .388 .709 4.7 .8 5.3 Buffalo 46 15.5 .342 .812 5.0 1.0 5.2Career 410 14.1 .372 .677 5.2 .7 5.4

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1965 Cincinnati 2 1.5 1.000 – 1.0 .5 1.0 1966 L.A. Lakers 1 3.0 1.000 – 1.0 .0 2.0 1967 Chicago 2 13.5 .222 .500 4.5 .0 3.5 1969 Philadelphia 5 9.0 .000 .750 3.6 1.6 .6 1970 Philadelphia 2 11.5 .308 1.000 6.0 .5 4.5Career 12 8.4 .258 .636 3.5 .8 1.9