Charles Thomas Scott, also known asShaheed Abdul-Aleem, (born December 15, 1948) is an American former professionalbasketball player.[1] He played two seasons in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) and eight seasons in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Scott was an Olympic Gold Medalist and was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. Scott is the leader in most points per game with 24.8 in Suns franchise history.
Scott was born in New York City and grew up primarily inHarlem, New York.[2][1] There, his father was a cab driver.[2]
A 6-foot-5-inch (1.96 m) guard/forward, Scott attendedStuyvesant High School inNew York City for one year before transferring toLaurinburg Institute inLaurinburg, North Carolina.[3] Scott transferred to Laurinburg which was famous at the time for preparing basketball players for college.[3] Scott said, "It had a well-known basketball program. I knew my family wouldn't be able to afford college, so a scholarship was going to be my ticket."[3] Scott was valedictorian of his high school senior class.[4][3] He was also a legend atRucker Park.[5]
While in high school, Scott spent one summer at a basketball program atDavidson College with coachLefty Driesell.[3] Driesell recruited Scott who was accepted for early admission at Davidson.[3] However, Scott also exploredDuke University,North Carolina State University, theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, andWake Forest University at the suggestion of his coach at Laurinburg.[3] He ultimately accepted the offer to play at UNC because he felt that, as a larger public university, it would be more open to a black player "breaking the color barrier".[3]
Scott played college basketball at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) where he was the firstblack scholarship athlete.[4] Scott averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game at UNC, and a career-best 27.1 points per game in his senior season.[2] He was a two-time All-American and a three-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.[4] Scott led UNC to their second and third consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances in 1968 and 1969.[4]
Woody Durham, a long-time radio announcer for UNC basketball said, "He really was something. He was the first Carolina player that really would compare to today's player. His build, his speed, his ability—you could take him out of the late 1960s and drop him into today's game, and he wouldn't miss a beat."[2]
In addition to breaking the color barrier in UNC basketball, he was also the first African-American to pledge a fraternity at UNC, accepting an offer to joinSt. Anthony Hall, in 1967.[6][7] However, three weeks after pledging, Scott withdrew from the fraternity because of his demanding basketball schedule.[8][9]
Scott was a gold medalist at the1968 Summer Olympics playing for the1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team. Scott was the fourth leading scorer on the team (8.0) coached byHenry Iba.[10]
Scott was drafted by theBoston Celtics in 1970 but he had already signed a contract with theVirginia Squires of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Scott was named ABA Rookie of the Year after averaging 27.1 points per game. During his second season with the Squires, he set the ABA record for the highest scoring average in one season (34.6 points per game). However, he became dissatisfied with life in the ABA and joined the NBA'sPhoenix Suns in 1972. The Suns tradedPaul Silas to theCeltics after the season in order to keep him. At that point, he briefly went by the name Shaheed Abdul-Aleem.[11]
Scott continued his stellar play in the NBA, representing the Suns in three straightNBA All-Star Games (1973, 1974, and 1975), then was traded to the Boston Celtics forPaul Westphal and two draft picks. With the Celtics in the1975-76 NBA season, Scott won a championship ring against the Suns. Scott later played for theLos Angeles Lakers andDenver Nuggets. He retired in 1980 with 14,837 combined ABA/NBA career points.
He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.[12]
Scott was childhood friends with actorDemond Wilson ofSanford & Son fame.[13]
While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Scott married Margaret Holmes. They had a daughter, Holly Scott Emanuel.
Scott and his current wife, Trudy, have three children—sons Shaun Scott andShannon Dean Scott and daughter Simone Scott—and have lived primarily inAtlanta andLos Angeles.[2][14] They currently live inColumbus, Ohio, where son Shannon used to play for theOhio State Buckeyes.[15][14]
After retiring from the NBA, Scott served as a marketing director for the sports apparel companyChampion for several years, then as executive vice president of CTS, a telemarketing firm, before owning his own business.[4][2][16]
| 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 |
| ‡ | NBA record |
| Bold | Denotes career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | Virginia (ABA) | 84 | – | 37.9 | .463 | .246 | .746 | 5.2 | 5.6 | – | – | 27.1 |
| 1971–72 | Virginia (ABA) | 73 | – | 41.9 | .449 | .264 | .803 | 5.1 | 4.8 | – | – | 34.6‡ |
| 1971–72 | Phoenix | 6 | – | 29.5 | .425 | – | .810 | 3.8 | 4.3 | – | – | 18.8 |
| 1972–73 | Phoenix | 81 | – | 37.8 | .446 | – | .784 | 4.2 | 6.1 | – | – | 25.3 |
| 1973–74 | Phoenix | 52 | – | 38.5 | .459 | – | .781 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 25.4 |
| 1974–75 | Phoenix | 69 | – | 37.6 | .441 | – | .781 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 24.3 |
| 1975–76† | Boston | 82 | – | 35.5 | .449 | – | .797 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| 1976–77 | Boston | 43 | – | 36.8 | .444 | – | .746 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 18.2 |
| 1977–78 | Boston | 31 | – | 34.8 | .433 | – | .712 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 16.3 |
| 1977–78 | L.A. Lakers | 48 | – | 29.0 | .442 | – | .775 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 11.7 |
| 1978–79 | Denver | 79 | – | 29.0 | .442 | – | .775 | 3.1 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 12.0 |
| 1979–80 | Denver | 69 | – | 33.1 | .460 | .182 | .749 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
| ABA Career | 157 | – | 39.8 | .456 | .257 | .775 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 30.6‡ | |||
| NBA Career | 560 | – | 34.4 | .444 | .772 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 17.9 | ||
| Total Career | 717 | – | 35.6 | .448 | .773 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 20.7 | ||
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Virginia (ABA) | 12 | – | 42.0 | .409 | .258 | .755 | 6.6 | 6.8 | – | – | 26.8 |
| 1976† | Boston | 18 | – | 35.1 | .391 | – | .764 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 15.4 |
| 1977 | Boston | 9 | – | 37.6 | .406 | – | .846 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 16.4 |
| 1978 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | – | 34.3 | .300 | – | .750 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 10.0 |
| 1979 | Denver | 3 | – | 34.7 | .476 | – | .571 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 16.0 |
| Career | 45 | – | 37.4 | .400 | .258 | .766 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 18.3 | |
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