 Sanders in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1938-11-08)November 8, 1938 (age 87) 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 | Seward Park (New York City, New York) |
| College | NYU (1957–1960) |
| NBA draft | 1960: 1st round, 8th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Boston Celtics |
| Playing career | 1960–1973 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 16 |
| Coaching career | 1973–1978 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1960–1973 | Boston Celtics |
Coaching | |
| 1973–1977 | Harvard |
| 1977–1978 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 1978 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career playing statistics | |
| Points | 8,766 (9.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 5,798 (6.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,026 (1.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Career coaching record | |
| NBA | 23–39 (.371) |
| College | 40–60 (.400) |
| Record atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Thomas Ernest "Satch"Sanders (born November 8, 1938) is an American former professionalbasketball player and coach. He played his entire professional career as apower forward for theBoston Celtics of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Sanders won eightNBA championships and is tied for third for themost NBA championships. He is also one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8–0 record inNBA Finals series.[1] After his playing retirement, he served as a head coach for theHarvard Crimson men's basketball team and the Boston Celtics. Sanders was inducted into theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2011.
After playing atNew York University as a stand out collegian, he spent all of his 13 years in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) with theBoston Celtics. He scored a career-high 30 points to go along with 26 rebounds in a 142–110 win over the Syracuse Nationals on March 13, 1962.[2] He was part of theeight championship teams in 1961–66, 1968 and 1969. In NBA history, only teammatesBill Russell andSam Jones have won more championship rings during their playing careers (three other teammates,John Havlicek,Tom Heinsohn andK. C. Jones, also won eight championship rings).
Sanders underwentknee surgery in 1970 after he injured his left knee during the last Celtics game for the regular season.[3] This immensely affected his ability to play afterwards. He announced he was ending his playing career in 1973. On March 20, 1968, ahousing development group formed by Sanders (called the Sanders Associates) received a $996,000FHA commitment through the Boston Rehabilitation Program (BURP) for the rehabilitation of 83 units inRoxbury, Massachusetts after local community activists (includingMel King) criticized BURP for a lack of sufficient community control and racial equity.[4]
Following his playing career Sanders became the basketball coach atHarvard University, a position he held until 1977. Sanders became the first African-American to serve as a head coach of any sport in theIvy League.[5] In1978, Sanders became the head coach of theBoston Celtics, taking over for former teammateTommy Heinsohn. Sanders returned the followingseason; however after a 2–12 record he was replaced byDave Cowens, who took on the role as aplayer-coach. In 1986, Sanders founded the Rookie Transition Program - the first such program in any major American sport.[6]
| 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 |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960–61† | Boston | 68 | 15.9 | .420 | .670 | 5.7 | 0.6 | 5.3 |
| 1961–62† | Boston | 80 | 29.1 | .435 | .749 | 9.5 | 0.9 | 11.2 |
| 1962–63† | Boston | 80 | 26.9 | .456 | .738 | 7.2 | 1.2 | 10.8 |
| 1963–64† | Boston | 80 | 29.6 | .417 | .761 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 11.4 |
| 1964–65† | Boston | 80 | 30.7 | .429 | .745 | 8.3 | 1.2 | 11.8 |
| 1965–66† | Boston | 72 | 26.3 | .428 | .764 | 7.1 | 1.3 | 12.6 |
| 1966–67 | Boston | 81 | 23.8 | .428 | .817 | 5.4 | 1.1 | 10.2 |
| 1967–68† | Boston | 78 | 25.4 | .428 | .784 | 5.8 | 1.3 | 10.2 |
| 1968–69† | Boston | 82 | 26.6 | .430 | .733 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 11.2 |
| 1969–70 | Boston | 57 | 28.4 | .443 | .880 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 11.5 |
| 1970–71 | Boston | 17 | 7.1 | .364 | .875 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
| 1971–72 | Boston | 82 | 19.9 | .410 | .816 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 6.6 |
| 1972–73 | Boston | 59 | 7.2 | .315 | .657 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
| Career | 916 | 24.2 | .428 | .767 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 9.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961† | Boston | 10 | 21.6 | .493 | .625 | 8.4 | 0.7 | 8.9 |
| 1962† | Boston | 14 | 31.4 | .431 | .806 | 8.2 | 1.0 | 10.1 |
| 1963† | Boston | 13 | 29.8 | .437 | .774 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 9.8 |
| 1964† | Boston | 10 | 30.2 | .362 | .676 | 6.8 | 0.6 | 9.1 |
| 1965† | Boston | 12 | 30.4 | .421 | .721 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 13.3 |
| 1966† | Boston | 17 | 29.4 | .483 | .750 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 13.5 |
| 1967 | Boston | 9 | 16.0 | .344 | .400 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 4.9 |
| 1968† | Boston | 14 | 20.6 | .505 | .762 | 4.5 | 0.9 | 8.3 |
| 1969† | Boston | 15 | 13.1 | .438 | .742 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 5.8 |
| 1972 | Boston | 11 | 16.9 | .321 | .619 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| 1973 | Boston | 5 | 4.8 | .556 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
| Career | 130 | 23.5 | .436 | .716 | 5.8 | 1.0 | 8.8 | |
_and_Satch_Sanders_of_the_Boston_Celtics_(right)_with_group_girls_holding_basketball_trophies_(12461581385)_(1).jpg)
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