Charlie Scott (basketball) facts for kids
 |
||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1948 New York City, New York, U.S. |
|||||||||||||
| High school |
|
|||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | North Carolina (1967–1970) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1970 / Round: 7 / Pick: 106th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1970–1980 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1972 | Virginia Squires | |||||||||||||
| 1972–1975 | Phoenix Suns | |||||||||||||
| 1975–1977 | Boston Celtics | |||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Los Angeles Lakers | |||||||||||||
| 1978–1980 | Denver Nuggets | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Career ABA / NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Points | 14,837 (20.7 ppg) | |||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 2,846 (4.0 rpg) | |||||||||||||
| Assists | 3,515 (4.9 apg) | |||||||||||||
|
Medals
|
||||||||||||||
Charles Thomas Scott, also known as Shaheed Abdul-Aleem, is an American former professional basketball player. He was born on December 15, 1948. Scott played for two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won a gold medal at the Olympics and was added to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. Scott holds the record for the most points per game (24.8) in the history of the Phoenix Suns team.
Contents
Early Life and High School
Charlie Scott was born in New York City and grew up mostly in Harlem, New York. His father worked as a taxi driver there.
Scott was a tall guard and forward, standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 meters) tall. He went to Stuyvesant High School in New York City for one year. After that, he moved to Laurinburg Institute in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Scott chose Laurinburg because it was well-known for helping basketball players get ready for college. He knew his family could not pay for college, so a scholarship was very important for him. Scott was even the best student in his high school class. He was also a famous player at Rucker Park, a legendary basketball court in New York City.
While in high school, Scott spent a summer at a basketball program at Davidson College. The coach there, Lefty Driesell, wanted Scott to play for Davidson. Scott also looked at other colleges like Duke University and North Carolina State University. He finally decided to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He felt that UNC, being a larger public university, would be more welcoming to a Black player. He was going to be the first Black player to break the "color barrier" in their basketball program.
College Basketball Career
Scott played college basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He made history as the first Black athlete to receive a scholarship to play basketball there. During his time at UNC, Scott scored an average of 22.1 points and grabbed 7.1 rebounds per game. In his final year, he had his best season, averaging 27.1 points per game.
He was chosen as an All-American twice and was picked for the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team three times. Scott helped lead UNC to the NCAA Final Four in 1968 and 1969. These were the second and third times in a row that UNC reached the Final Four.
Woody Durham, a long-time radio announcer for UNC basketball, said that Scott was amazing. He believed Scott was the first Carolina player who would fit right into today's game. His body, speed, and skills were so good that he could play now without missing a beat.
Besides breaking the color barrier in UNC basketball, Scott was also the first African-American to join a fraternity at UNC. He accepted an offer to join St. Anthony Hall in 1967. However, he left the fraternity three weeks later because his basketball schedule was too busy.
Scott also won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He played for the 1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team. Scott was the fourth-highest scorer on that team, which was coached by Henry Iba.
Professional Basketball Career
In 1970, the Boston Celtics drafted Charlie Scott. However, he had already signed a contract with the Virginia Squires in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Scott was named the ABA Rookie of the Year after averaging 27.1 points per game. In his second season with the Squires, he set an ABA record. He had the highest scoring average in one season, with 34.6 points per game.
But Scott became unhappy playing in the ABA. So, in 1972, he joined the NBA's Phoenix Suns. The Suns traded Paul Silas to the Celtics after the season to keep Scott. Around that time, he briefly used the name Shaheed Abdul-Aleem.
Scott continued to play very well in the NBA. He represented the Suns in three NBA All-Star Games in a row (1973, 1974, and 1975). After that, he was traded to the Boston Celtics for Paul Westphal and two draft picks. With the Celtics, Scott won an NBA championship ring in the 1975-76 NBA season. They won against his former team, the Phoenix Suns. Scott later played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. He stopped playing basketball in 1980. He finished his career with a total of 14,837 points from both the ABA and NBA.
He was honored by being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Personal Life
Charlie Scott was childhood friends with actor Demond Wilson. Wilson is famous for his role in the TV show Sanford & Son.
While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Scott married Margaret Holmes. They had a daughter named Holly Scott Emanuel.
Scott and his current wife, Trudy, have three children. Their sons are Shaun Scott and Shannon Dean Scott, and their daughter is Simone Scott. They have mostly lived in Atlanta and Los Angeles. Currently, they live in Columbus, Ohio. Their son Shannon used to play basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes there.
After he retired from the NBA, Scott worked as a marketing director for the sports clothing company Champion. He did this for several years. Then, he was an executive vice president at CTS, a company that does telemarketing. Later, he started his own business.
See also
In Spanish: Charlie Scott para niños
