Gar Heard facts for kids

Garfield Heard (born May 3, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma. The Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) chose him in the 1970 NBA draft. Heard played 11 seasons in the NBA for four different teams. He is most famous for a game-tying shot in the 1976 NBA Finals. This shot is often called "The Shot" or "The Shot Heard 'Round the World."

Early Life and College Basketball

Gar Heard was born on May 3, 1948, in Hogansville, Georgia. He went to Ethel W. Kight High School in LaGrange, Georgia.

College Career at Oklahoma

In 1966, Heard decided to play basketball at the University of Oklahoma (OU). He became a star player for the Sooners. When he finished college, he was the school's all-time leading rebounder. He was also the second-highest scorer in OU history.

During his senior year, he averaged 21.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. The University of Oklahoma called him "OU's first true superstar." He was named to the First-team All-Big Eight for the 1969-70 season. Heard played for coach John MacLeod for three seasons. MacLeod would later coach Heard again in the NBA.

Heard set an Oklahoma school record with 21 double-doubles in one season (1969–70). A double-double means getting double-digit numbers in two stats, like points and rebounds. This record stood for many years.

Professional Basketball Career

Gar Heard was picked by the Seattle SuperSonics in the third round of the 1970 NBA draft. He was the 40th player chosen overall.

Playing for Early NBA Teams

Heard played his first two seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was a reserve Power forward. In 1972, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls. He played one season for the Bulls, averaging 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Before the 1973–74 NBA season, Heard was traded to the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers). This was a great move for him. In the 1973-74 season, Heard had his best year in the NBA. He averaged 15.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.8 blocked shots per game. He was among the top ten players in the NBA for both rebounds and blocked shots that season.

Joining the Phoenix Suns

In 1976, Heard was traded to the Phoenix Suns. His college coach, John MacLeod, was the coach of the Suns. This was a happy reunion for them. Before Heard joined, the Suns were not playing very well. They had trouble stopping other teams from scoring.

After Heard arrived, the Suns' defense got much better. Their record improved a lot. Heard helped the team by averaging 12.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.

The 1976 NBA Finals

The Suns made it to the 1976 NBA Finals to play against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were a very strong team. The Suns lost the series 4–2, but one game became legendary.

The Shot Heard 'Round the World

Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals is often called one of the greatest NBA games ever. The game went into triple-overtime. The most exciting part happened at the end of the second overtime.

With only a few seconds left, the Suns were ahead by one point. Then, Celtics star John Havlicek made a shot, giving Boston a one-point lead (111–110). The clock mistakenly ran out, and the Celtics thought they had won. Their fans cheered loudly, and the players even went to their locker room!

But the Suns pointed out that there was still time left. The officials put one second back on the clock. Suns guard Paul Westphal then did something very smart. He called a timeout, even though the Suns had no timeouts left. This is against the rules and usually gives the other team a free throw. The Celtics made the free throw, making the score 112–110.

However, Westphal's move also allowed the Suns to inbound the ball from mid-court instead of under their own basket. This was a huge advantage. When play started again, Gar Heard caught the pass. He quickly shot a high-arching jump shot from about 18-20 feet away. The shot went right through the net! This amazing shot tied the game and sent it into a third overtime.

Even though the Celtics eventually won that game and the championship, Heard's shot is still remembered as one of the most dramatic moments in NBA history. In that game, Heard scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Heard played four more seasons for the Phoenix Suns after this. He finished his playing career with the San Diego Clippers in 1981.

Coaching Career

After retiring as a player, Gar Heard became a basketball coach.

Assistant Coach and Head Coach Roles

He was an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks for five years (1987-1992). He worked under his former coach, John MacLeod, there. In 1993, he became the Mavericks' interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Heard then served as an assistant coach for several other NBA teams. These included the Indiana Pacers (1993-1997), Philadelphia 76ers (1997-1998), and Detroit Pistons (1998-1999).

In 1999, Heard became the head coach of the Washington Wizards. He coached 44 games before being replaced in January 2000. He later returned to the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach.

Heard also worked as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks (2000-2003). In the 2004–05 NBA season, he joined the Detroit Pistons again as an assistant coach. He even filled in as head coach for some games when the main coach was out. The Pistons reached the NBA Finals that year.

See also

In Spanish: Gar Heard para niños