 Buse, circa 1986 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-08-10)August 10, 1950 (age 75) Huntingburg, Indiana, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Holland (Holland, Indiana) |
| College | Evansville (1969–1972) |
| NBA draft | 1972: 3rd round, 34th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Phoenix Suns |
| Playing career | 1972–1985 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 10, 11 |
| Career history | |
| 1972–1977 | Indiana Pacers |
| 1977–1980 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1980–1982 | Indiana Pacers |
| 1982–1983 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1983–1985 | Kansas City Kings |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 6,890 (7.1 ppg) |
| Assists | 4,425 (4.6 apg) |
| Steals | 1,818 (2.0 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Donald R. Buse (/ˈbuːziː/BOO-zee;[1] born August 10, 1950) is an American former professionalbasketball player. A 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m)point guard from theUniversity of Evansville, he played 13 seasons (1972–1985) in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) andNational Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of theIndiana Pacers,[2] thePhoenix Suns,[3] thePortland Trail Blazers, and theKansas City Kings.
Named an Indiana All-Star in 1968, following a stellar career atHolland High School, which consolidated withHuntingburg High School to becomeSouthridge High School.He started from 1964 to 1968, and led the Dutchmen to Sectional Championships in 1967 and 1968.They finished the 1968 season undefeated but lost the Regional Championship game[4] to perennial powerJeffersonville High School. Buse was selected to the Indiana All-Star Team in 1968.
Don Buse was selected for the NCAA squad to compete for positions on the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team, but he was replaced by Jim Forbes as he signed a professional contract.
Buse went on to play professionally for theIndiana Pacers, thePhoenix Suns, thePortland Trail Blazers, and theKansas City Kings.
Buse was known for his dependable ball-handling, tight defense, and clutch-shooting, and he appeared in twoAll-Star games (one in the ABA in1976; one in the NBA in1977)[5] during the course of his career. His best season occurred in 1975–76, when he led the ABA in bothsteals per game (4.12) andassists per game (8.2) while also contributing a career high 12.5 points per game. In the next season, his first in the NBA, Buse again led all players in steals per game (3.47) and assists per game (8.5).
In 1979, Buse helped take the Suns deep into the playoffs on a team with notable players, such asPaul Westphal,Walter Davis,Truck Robinson andAlvan Adams.
Buse was an All-Defensive Team member six times, from the 1974–75 season through the 1979–80 season. The first two were in the ABA and the final four were in the NBA.
After Buse's career he was selected to several All-time teams, including:
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Buse's team won anABA championship |
| * | ABA record |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–73† | Indiana (ABA) | 77 | — | 19.3 | .453 | .208 | .752 | 2.7 | 2.9 | — | — | 5.4 |
| 1973–74 | Indiana (ABA) | 77 | — | 24.4 | .398 | .336 | .686 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 1.9 | .3 | 5.5 |
| 1974–75 | Indiana (ABA) | 80 | — | 29.6 | .432 | .309 | .797 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 2.1 | .2 | 6.5 |
| 1975–76 | Indiana (ABA) | 84 | — | 40.2* | .451 | .346 | .814 | 3.8 | 8.2* | 4.1* | .4 | 12.5 |
| 1976–77 | Indiana (NBA) | 81 | — | 36.4 | .416 | — | .786 | 3.3 | 8.5* | 3.5* | .2 | 8.0 |
| 1977–78 | Phoenix (NBA) | 82 | 82 | 31.1 | .458 | — | .824 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 2.3 | .2 | 8.4 |
| 1978–79 | Phoenix (NBA) | 82* | 82* | 31.0 | .495 | — | .769 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 1.9 | .2 | 7.8 |
| 1979–80 | Phoenix (NBA) | 81 | — | 30.9 | .443 | .241 | .664 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 1.6 | .1 | 7.7 |
| 1980–81 | Indiana (NBA) | 58 | — | 18.9 | .397 | .328 | .769 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.3 | .1 | 5.1 |
| 1981–82 | Indiana (NBA) | 82 | 78 | 30.8 | .455 | .386 | .813 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 2.0 | .3 | 9.7 |
| 1982–83 | Portland (NBA) | 41 | 1 | 15.7 | .396 | .257 | .891 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .0 | 4.7 |
| 1983–84 | Kansas City (NBA) | 76 | 10 | 17.5 | .426 | .305 | .788 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 1.1 | .0 | 5.0 |
| 1984–85 | Kansas City (NBA) | 65 | 14 | 14.4 | .404 | .356 | .767 | .9 | 3.1 | .6 | .0 | 3.4 |
| Career | 966 | 267 | 27.1 | .440 | .330 | .779 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 2.0 | .2 | 7.1 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 0 | 16.5 | .444 | .500 | — | 1.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 4.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973† | Indiana (ABA) | 14 | — | 11.6 | .356 | .000 | .619 | 1.8 | 1.2 | — | — | 3.2 |
| 1974 | Indiana (ABA) | 14 | — | 23.6 | .441 | .318 | .667 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 | .1 | 5.2 |
| 1975 | Indiana (ABA) | 18 | — | 32.0 | .379 | .231 | .533 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 2.5 | .3 | 5.6 |
| 1976 | Indiana (ABA) | 3 | — | 46.0 | .455 | .333 | 1.000 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 2.3 | .0 | 12.3 |
| 1978 | Phoenix (NBA) | 2 | — | 38.0 | .364 | — | — | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| 1979 | Phoenix (NBA) | 15 | — | 34.1 | .405 | — | .727 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .3 | 7.9 |
| 1980 | Phoenix (NBA) | 8 | — | 29.5 | .438 | .385 | .636 | 2.6 | 5.5 | .8 | .0 | 8.5 |
| 1981 | Indiana (NBA) | 2 | — | 17.5 | .125 | .250 | 1.000 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .0 | 2.5 |
| 1983 | Portland (NBA) | 5 | — | 6.2 | .250 | — | .750 | .4 | 1.4 | .0 | .0 | 1.4 |
| 1984 | Kansas City (NBA) | 3 | — | 16.7 | .438 | .500 | .667 | 1.0 | 3.7 | .3 | .3 | 7.0 |
| Career | 84 | — | 25.6 | .400 | .287 | .658 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.7 | .2 | 5.7 | |
· Basketball Reference