Darrell Griffith facts for kids
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Griffith in 2007
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 16, 1958 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| High school | Louisville Male (Louisville, Kentucky) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Louisville (1976–1980) |
| NBA Draft | 1980 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall |
| Selected by the Utah Jazz | |
| Pro career | 1980–1991 |
| Career history | |
| 1980–1991 | Utah Jazz |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 12,391 (16.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,519 (3.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,627 (2.1 apg) |
Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958) is a famous American former professional basketball player. He is also known by his cool nickname, Dr. Dunkenstein, because of his amazing dunks! Darrell Griffith played his entire professional career with the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1991. Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball at the University of Louisville.
Contents
Darrell Griffith's Early Life and College Career
Darrell Griffith was a star player at Louisville Male High School in Kentucky. Many colleges wanted him to play for their teams. His high school team even won the Kentucky State Championship in 1975! Griffith chose to stay in his hometown and play for the University of Louisville, which made local fans very happy.
Winning the NCAA Championship
Griffith did not disappoint his fans. He helped the Cardinals win their first-ever NCAA men's basketball championship in 1980. In the championship game against UCLA, he scored 23 points, helping his team win 59–54. Because of his fantastic playing, he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four tournament.
College Records and Honors
In his final year of college, Griffith scored 825 points, which was a new school record. He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press. He also received the Wooden Award, which is given to the best college basketball player in the nation. When he finished college, he was Louisville's all-time leading scorer with 2,333 points. His jersey number, 35, was retired by the University of Louisville after the 1980 season to honor his achievements. In November 2014, Darrell Griffith was welcomed into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Darrell Griffith's Professional NBA Career
The Utah Jazz picked Darrell Griffith as the second overall player in the 1980 NBA draft. The Jazz team had just moved to Salt Lake City from New Orleans. They needed a new star player to replace the legendary Pete Maravich. Griffith was ready for the challenge! In his first season, he scored an average of 20.6 points per game and won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award.
Becoming "The Golden Griff"
For the next four seasons, Griffith played alongside Adrian Dantley, forming one of the highest-scoring duos in the league. With strong defense from Mark Eaton and Rickey Green, the Jazz team got much better. They won the Midwest Division title in 1983–84 and made it to the NBA playoffs for the very first time.
Griffith also improved his game by becoming a great long-distance shooter. He led the league in three-point shooting (36.1 percent) and set an NBA record for the most three-pointers made in one season (91). Because of his new shooting skills, Utah's play-by-play announcer, Hot Rod Hundley, gave him a new nickname: "The Golden Griff."
Best Season and Injuries
The 1984–85 season was Griffith's best. He scored a career-high average of 22.6 points per game. He also broke his own record by making 92 three-point shots that season. During this time, he became the all-time NBA leader for most career three-pointers, passing Joey Hassett. He also showed off his high-flying dunks in the NBA Slam Dunk Contests in 1984 and 1985.
Later in the 1980s, the Jazz team changed as new stars like Karl Malone and John Stockton became the main scorers. Griffith also started to have injuries. He missed the entire 1985–86 season because of a foot injury. When he returned, he lost his starting position. He also needed knee surgery in March 1988, which made him miss the rest of that season.
Retirement and Legacy
Griffith did get his starting spot back for most of the 1988–89 season, but he lost it for good the next year. His playing time slowly decreased until he retired in 1991. He scored a total of 12,391 points during his 10-year professional career, all with the Utah Jazz. To honor his important contributions to the team, the Jazz retired his jersey number 35 on December 4, 1993.
Post-Basketball Career
In the 2010s and 2020s, Darrell Griffith returned to his old college, the University of Louisville. He worked as a special assistant to the university president and later as a university ambassador.
See also
In Spanish: Darrell Griffith para niños
- List of University of Louisville people
- List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area
- List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
