Leonard R. Chappell (January 31, 1941 – July 12, 2018) was an Americanbasketball player.[1] He played for 10 years in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) and was selected to oneNBA All-Star Game.
A 6'8"power forward/center, Chappell was a star atWake Forest University, where he was a teammate of future broadcasterBilly Packer He helped lead theDemon Deacons to a third-place finish in the 1962 NCAA tournament and was namedACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1961 and 1962. In 1962, he became Wake Forest's firstconsensus All-American[2] He was the ACC tournament's all-time leading scorer untilDuke University'sJ. J. Redick surpassed him in 2006. Chappell was named to theACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team in 2002, honoring him as one of the 50 greatest players inAtlantic Coast Conference history.
After college, theSyracuse Nationals selected him with the fourth pick in the1962 NBA draft. He played one season with the Nationals. The following year the team moved toPhiladelphia and was renamed the 76ers. After one game in Philadelphia, theNew York Knicks purchased his contract. After moving to New York, he had his best season with 17 points and nine rebounds per game, earning his only All-Star selection.[2]
He left New York in 1966 and played for theChicago Bulls,Cincinnati Royals,Detroit Pistons,Milwaukee Bucks,Cleveland Cavaliers, andAtlanta Hawks. While on the Bucks during their inaugural season, on December 19, 1968, he scored a career-best 35 points during a 113–111 loss to theChicago Bulls.[3][4] He also played one season (1971–1972) with theDallas Chaparrals of theAmerican Basketball Association.Len is credited with scoring the first basket in Chicago Bulls history on October 15, 1966.
Chappell suffered a brain hemorrhage after a fall in April 2018 and later suffered a stroke and pneumonia. He died July 12, 2018, inOconomowoc, Wisconsin.[2]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–63 | Syracuse | 80 | - | 15.5 | .465 | - | .622 | 5.8 | 0.7 | - | - | 8.9 |
| 1963–64 | Philadelphia | 1 | - | 16.0 | .000 | - | .500 | 4.0 | 0.0 | - | - | 1.0 |
| 1963–64 | New York | 78 | - | 31.9 | .449 | - | .716 | 9.8 | 1.1 | - | - | 17.3 |
| 1964–65 | New York | 43 | - | 15.2 | .395 | - | .680 | 3.3 | 0.3 | - | - | 8.3 |
| 1965–66 | New York | 46 | - | 11.8 | .420 | - | .590 | 2.8 | 0.6 | - | - | 5.3 |
| 1966–67 | Chicago | 19 | - | 9.4 | .449 | - | .667 | 2.0 | 0.6 | - | - | 4.9 |
| 1966–67 | Cincinnati | 54 | - | 9.8 | .411 | - | .650 | 2.8 | 0.4 | - | - | 4.1 |
| 1967–68 | Cincinnati | 10 | - | 6.5 | .500 | - | .800 | 1.5 | 0.5 | - | - | 3.8 |
| 1967–68 | Detroit | 57 | - | 17.5 | .514 | - | .707 | 6.1 | 0.8 | - | - | 10.0 |
| 1968–69 | Milwaukee | 80 | - | 27.6 | .454 | - | .737 | 8.0 | 1.2 | - | - | 14.6 |
| 1969–70 | Milwaukee | 75 | - | 15.1 | .465 | - | .640 | 3.7 | 0.7 | - | - | 8.3 |
| 1970–71 | Cleveland | 6 | - | 14.3 | .395 | - | .786 | 3.0 | 0.2 | - | - | 6.8 |
| 1970–71 | Atlanta | 42 | - | 10.7 | .441 | - | .811 | 3.2 | 0.4 | - | - | 4.8 |
| 1971–72 | Dallas | 79 | - | 17.8 | .452 | - | .746 | 4.0 | 0.9 | - | - | 7.7 |
| Career | 670 | - | 17.9 | .452 | - | .697 | 5.1 | 0.8 | - | - | 9.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–63 | Syracuse | 4 | - | 13.3 | .190 | - | .813 | 4.5 | 0.8 | - | - | 5.3 |
| 1966–67 | Cincinnati | 4 | - | 16.5 | .370 | - | .500 | 3.3 | 2.3 | - | - | 5.5 |
| 1967–68 | Detroit | 5 | - | 4.2 | .286 | - | .500 | 2.4 | 0.0 | - | - | 1.4 |
| 1969–70 | Milwaukee | 9 | - | 14.8 | .560 | - | .684 | 2.9 | 0.6 | - | - | 7.7 |
| 1971–72 | Dallas | 4 | - | 22.3 | .500 | - | .625 | 4.5 | 0.8 | - | - | 7.3 |
| Career | 26 | - | 13.9 | .434 | - | .679 | 3.3 | 0.8 | - | - | 5.7 | |
https://www.nba.com/bulls/history/the-one-that-started-it-all
· Basketball Reference