Andrew Toney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Andrew Toney

Toney in 2013
Personal information
Born	(1957-11-23) November 23, 1957 (age 67) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
High school	Charles B. Glenn (Birmingham, Alabama)
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
College	Louisiana (1976–1980)
NBA Draft	1980 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career	1980–1988
Career history
1980–1988	Philadelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1983) 2× NBA All-Star (1983, 1984) 2× Southland Player of the Year (1978, 1980) Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Career statistics
Points	7,458 (15.9 ppg)
Rebounds	1,009 (2.2 rpg)
Assists	1,965 (4.2 apg)

Andrew Toney (born November 23, 1957) is a former American professional basketball player. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Toney played from 1980 to 1988.

He was chosen as an NBA All-Star two times. In 1983, he won an NBA championship with the 76ers. Famous basketball players like Larry Bird and Sidney Moncrief thought Toney was as good as Michael Jordan on offense. Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe called Toney "the most forgotten great player in NBA history."

Andrew Toney's Early Life and College Career

Andrew Toney was born on November 23, 1957, in Birmingham, Alabama. He went to Glenn High School in Birmingham. On the basketball team, he was an amazing scorer. He averaged 31 points per game as a junior. As a senior, he averaged 37 points per game.

He was named Alabama's "Mr. Basketball" in his senior year. He was also chosen for All-America teams as a junior and senior. His high school team had a great record of 80 wins and 14 losses with Toney. He also played baseball and ran track.

College Basketball at Louisiana

Toney went to the University of Southwestern Louisiana. This school is now called the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He played basketball there under coaches Jim Hatfield and Bobby Paschal.

In college, he continued to score a lot of points. He averaged 21 points per game as a freshman. Over his whole college career, he averaged 23.6 points per game. In his senior year, he led his team to a 21-9 record. They even made it to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. He was named All-Southeastern Conference in 1980. Toney set nine school records. He scored 46 points in a single game three times. One of these games was against Auburn to win the Bayou Class Championship.

Andrew Toney's Professional NBA Career

Toney played for the 76ers from 1980 to 1988.

Andrew Toney was picked by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA draft. He was the eighth player chosen overall. He played for the 76ers for his entire NBA career, from 1980 to 1988.

Playing for the Philadelphia 76ers

Toney was a key player for the 76ers. He was especially good during the Celtics–76ers rivalry in the early 1980s. He could take over games by himself against the Boston Celtics.

In Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals, he scored 34 points. He also scored 30 points in Game 2 and 39 points in Game 4 of that series. He averaged 26.4 points per game in that playoff series.

Toney was chosen for the National Basketball Association All-Star Game twice. These were in 1983 and 1984. He averaged 15.9 points per game throughout his career.

He was a very important part of the 1982–83 76ers championship team. He averaged 20 points a game that season. His teammates included Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones, and Maurice Cheeks.

Sadly, Toney's career was cut short after seven seasons. He had ongoing foot injuries, including stress fractures in both feet. This made it hard for him to keep playing at a high level.

What Others Said About Andrew Toney

Many people in basketball thought highly of Andrew Toney. Pat Williams, who worked for the Orlando Magic, shared a story. He said that Danny Ainge, a Celtics guard, worried most about Toney in the playoffs. Ainge said, "Not Magic or Dr. J, it's Andrew Toney that keeps me awake at night!"

Williams believed that if Toney had not been injured, he would have been in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Charles Barkley, another famous player, said Toney was the best player he ever played with. Toney's former coach, Billy Cunningham, also thought Toney would have been a Hall of Famer without injuries.

Larry Bird, a Hall of Fame Celtics player, said Toney was one of only two shooting guards he was most afraid of. The other was Michael Jordan. Sidney Moncrief, a Hall of Fame guard, had to defend Toney. He said, "Toney was un-guardable... he could do everything." Moncrief added that Toney was very smart and always had a counter for defenders. He "always put [Toney] right there with Michael [Jordan]."

After the 1983 championship, Laker coach Pat Riley called Toney "probably the toughest clutch shooter in the league today." He said Toney was "impervious to pressure," meaning pressure didn't bother him.

Toney and Maurice Cheeks were ranked as one of the greatest backcourt duos in NBA history. They were ranked eleventh out of seventy pairs.

Andrew Toney's Hall of Fame Inductions

Andrew Toney has been honored by several sports halls of fame:

• In 1992, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
• In 2013, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
• In 2016, Toney was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Andrew Toney's NBA Career Statistics

Regular Season Stats

Playoff Stats

Andrew Toney's Personal Life

Andrew Toney's son, Channing, also played basketball. Channing played NCAA Division I basketball at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also played professionally in Poland and Finland.

Today, Andrew Toney lives near Atlanta. He used to work as an elementary school teacher. Later, he worked with mentoring programs for the Gwinnett County Schools.

See Also

In Spanish: Andrew Toney para niños