Leroy Wright

James Leroy Wright Sr. (May 6, 1938 – March 21, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He played two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967–68 and 1968–69, winning the ABA Finals in 1968 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers.

Early life Wright grew up in Texas and graduated from Aycock High School (Rockdale) in 1956. He was a four-sport star, playing football, basketball and track and field. When he became eligible as a sophomore in 1957–58, Wright burst onto the national basketball scene with per game averages of 13.2 points and 17.1 rebounds. Wright's average of 25.1 rebounds per game as a junior and 22.4 per game as a senior are the top two in Pacific history, and he became the first player ever to repeat as the NCAA rebounding leader. He played another 13 games during the playoffs in which he averaged 2.0 points and 5.6 rebounds en route to the championship.

When the franchise relocated to Minnesota for the following season, Wright remained on the team but only played in 10 games and averaged a diminished 0.8 points and 3.0 rebounds. Since he was 30 years old at that point, Wright's career came to a close when he was not re-signed after the season.