Back بيلي كنغهام Arabic بيلى كنجهام ARZ Billy Cunningham Catalan Billy Cunningham German Μπίλι Κάνινγχαμ Greek Billy Cunningham Spanish بیلی کانینگهام Persian Billy Cunningham French Billy Cunningham Galician בילי קנינגהם HE
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 Cunningham with the Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 3, 1943 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, New York) |
| College | North Carolina (1962–1965) |
| NBA draft | 1965: 1st round, 5th overall pick |
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Playing career | 1965–1976 |
| Position | Small forward / power forward |
| Number | 32 |
| Coaching career | 1977–1985 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1965–1972 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1972–1974 | Carolina Cougars |
| 1974–1976 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| As coach: | |
| 1977–1985 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach:
| |
| Career ABA and NBA playing statistics | |
| Points | 16,310 (21.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 7,981 (10.4 rpg) |
| Assists | 3,305 (4.3 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Career coaching record | |
| NBA | 454–196 (.698) |
| Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (nine as player, eight as coach), and two seasons as a player with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA.
One of basketball's all-time greats, Cunningham was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and honored by selection to both the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams as one of its legendary players, as well as to the ABA All-Time Team. He was further honored in 1990 when he was selected at as part of the 1st class to enter the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Cunningham was All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year, and an All-American in college, later named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty best players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. As a professional he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, an NBA All-Star, All-NBA First and Second Team, an ABA All-Star, All-ABA First Team, and the ABA Most Valuable Player. He was an NBA champion both as a player (1967) and as a coach (1983).