Otis Birdsong
New Jersey Nets | |||||||||||||||
1989 | Boston Celtics | ||||||||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
Points | 12,544 (18.0 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
Rebounds | 2,072 (3.0 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
Assists | 2,260 (3.2 apg) | ||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games.[1]
A 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) guard who attended
Collegiate playing career
As a college freshman, Birdsong finished third among the team's scoring leaders with 14.3 points per game. The following year, Birdsong etched his name in the University of Houston's record books by becoming the first sophomore in the school's history to register 1,000 career points. When the Cougars began playing in the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Otis_Birdsong_UH.jpg/170px-Otis_Birdsong_UH.jpg)
In addition to receiving All-American honors, Birdsong was named to the All-Southwest Conference team in 1976 and 1977. Additionally, he was named District VI Player of the Year (encompassing Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas) by the United States Basketball Writers Association. He was a member of the USBWA's All-District VI Team in 1975, 1976 and 1977, and he was team captain both his junior and senior years. During his four seasons with the Cougars, the team compiled a 79–38 record. He left the University of Houston as the school's second leading all-time scorer with 2,832 total college career points.
Birdsong also ranks second on Houston's career charts in field goals, third in all-time steals, sixth in assists and ninth in field goal percentages. He continues to hold the school record for free throws with a total of 480.
Professional career
After completing his eligibility at the University of Houston, Birdsong was the second player chosen in the
On January 28, 1979, Birdsong recorded a career-high 11 assists alongside 30 points in a 137–109 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.[5]
On January 29, 1980, Birdsong scored a career-high 49 points while making 20 of 25 field goals in a win against the Denver Nuggets.[6]
During the
On June 8, 1981, Birdsong was traded by Kansas City with a 1981 2nd round draft pick (Steve Lingenfelter was later selected) to the New Jersey Nets for Cliff Robinson.[11]
Birdsong’s deepest postseason run with the Nets would come in 1984. The Nets upset the defending champion
In total, he scored over 12,000 career points, averaging 18 points per game, in 12 seasons with the Kings,
Birdsong returned to Houston following his career and served as a member of the Cougars' radio broadcast team for several seasons before moving to Dallas.
In 2000, Birdsong was inducted in the University of Houston's Hall of Honor as well as the
On October 20, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas, Birdsong was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame (presented by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame).
NBA career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977–78 | Kansas City | 73 | — | 25.7 | .492 | — | .697 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .2 | 15.8 |
1978–79 | Kansas City | 82 | — | 34.6 | .509 | — | .725 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 1.5 | .2 | 21.7 |
1979–80 | Kansas City | 82 | — | 35.2 | .505 | .278 | .694 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 1.7 | .3 | 22.7 |
1980–81 | Kansas City | 71 | — | 36.5 | .544 | .286 | .697 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 1.3 | .3 | 24.6 |
1981–82 | New Jersey | 37 | 22 | 27.7 | .469 | .000 | .583 | 2.6 | 3.4 | .8 | .1 | 14.2 |
1982–83 | New Jersey | 62 | 54 | 30.4 | .511 | .333 | .566 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 1.4 | .3 | 15.1 |
1983–84 | New Jersey | 69 | 57 | 31.4 | .508 | .250 | .608 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 1.2 | .2 | 19.8 |
1984–85 | New Jersey | 56 | 45 | 32.9 | .511 | .190 | .622 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 1.5 | .1 | 20.6 |
1985–86 | New Jersey | 77 | 74 | 31.1 | .513 | .364 | .581 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | .2 | 15.8 |
1986–87 | New Jersey | 7 | 6 | 18.1 | .452 | .000 | .667 | 1.0 | 2.4 | .4 | .0 | 6.3 |
1987–88 | New Jersey | 67 | 59 | 28.1 | .458 | .360 | .511 | 2.5 | 3.3 | .8 | .2 | 10.9 |
1988–89 | Boston | 13 | 0 | 8.3 | .500 | .333 | .000 | 1.0 | .7 | .2 | .1 | 2.8 |
Career | 696 | 317 | 31.1 | .506 | .274 | .655 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .2 | 18.0 | |
All-Star | 4 | 0 | 13.0 | .375 | — | .500 | 1.5 | .5 | .8 | .0 | 3.5 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | Kansas City | 5 | — | 33.6 | .513 | — | .711 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 2.0 | .0 | 21.0 |
1980 | Kansas City | 3 | — | 37.6 | .484 | .000 | .429 | 7.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | .0 | 22.0 |
1981 | Kansas City | 8 | — | 29.3 | .571 | 1.000 | .611 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.5 | .0 | 15.5 |
1983 | New Jersey | 2 | — | 18.5 | .375 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .0 | 6.5 |
1984 | New Jersey | 11 | — | 35.2 | .415 | .000 | .521 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 1.8 | .1 | 15.2 |
1986 | New Jersey | 3 | 3 | 44.0 | .527 | .000 | .579 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 23.0 |
1989 | Boston | 3 | 1 | 6.7 | .200 | .000 | — | .7 | .3 | .3 | .3 | .7 |
Career | 35 | 4 | 31.1 | .480 | .091 | .583 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.6 | .1 | 15.6 |
References
- ^ "OTIS BIRDSONG". Flasportshof.org. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ Young, Matt (March 5, 2017). "Great moments in the history of Hofheinz Pavilion". Chron.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "Polk State MLK Speaker and NBA All-Star Otis Birdsong: "There Is Always Hope"". Polk.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "Cleveland Cavaliers at Kansas City Kings Box Score, January 28, 1979". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Kansas City Kings at Denver Nuggets Box Score, January 29, 1980". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Otis Birdsong Per Game Averages". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "1981 NBA Western Conference First Round Kings vs. Trail Blazers". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "A KINGDOM OF BELIEVERS". Sports Illustrated - Vault.
- ^ "KANGZ, A-Z: Otis Birdsong, scoring machine". SBNATION.
- ^ "Otis Birdsong Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "1983–84 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "1984 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals – Nets vs. Bucks". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Otis Birdsong". Dhsaa.org. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com