 Wicks being double-teamed in a 1971 game | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1949-09-19)September 19, 1949 (age 75) Contra Costa County, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Alexander Hamilton (Los Angeles, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1971: 1st round, 2nd overall pick |
| Selected by thePortland Trail Blazers | |
| Playing career | 1971–1982 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 21, 12 |
| Career history | |
| 1971–1976 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1976–1978 | Boston Celtics |
| 1978–1981 | San Diego Clippers |
| 1981–1982 | Reyer Venezia Mestre |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 12,803 (16.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,620 (8.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,437 (3.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Sidney Wicks (born September 19, 1949) is an American former professionalbasketball player in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). A native ofCalifornia, he playedcollege basketball for theUCLA Bruins. Wicks was selected by thePortland Trail Blazers in the1971 NBA draft with the second overall pick. He was named theNBA Rookie of the Year and was a four-timeNBA All-Star with the Trail Blazers. He also played professionally for theBoston Celtics andSan Diego Clippers, finishing his career after one season in Italy.
Wicks was born on September 19, 1949, inContra Costa County, California.[1] He attendedAlexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. Because of non-qualifying grades in high school, Wicks attendedSanta Monica College for a year before he could attend his preferred university, theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Wicks later received Academic All-America honors at UCLA in 1971.[2] He earned a degree in sociology from the school.[3]
A 6'8"power forward/center, Wicks was a phenom at UCLA, playing on three straightNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships from 1969 to 1971. He was the Bruins' star player on the latter two championship teams. Wicks was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in 1970, the Helms National Co-Player of the Year (1970), and the USBWA and Sporting News Player of the Year (1971), and was a consensus All-American in 1970 and 1971. On February 1, 1996, hisjersey #35 was retired in a halftime ceremony at UCLA's home court, Pauley Pavilion. Wicks was a 1985 inductee into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was selected to theCollege Basketball Hall of Fame.[4]
ThePortland Trail Blazers selected Wicks with the second pick of the1971 NBA draft after paying theCleveland Cavaliers $250,000 not to select him.[3] TheDallas Chaparrals chose him in the 1971ABA draft. After averaging24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, Wicks was namedNBA Rookie of the Year.[5] He also played in theNBA All-Star Game.[6]
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Wicks played for the Trail Blazers from 1971 to 1976,[7] earning a total of four All-Star selections (1972–1975).[8] He held the Blazers' franchise record for rebounds in a game with 27 until being surpassed byEnes Kanter Freedom.[9] Wicks averaged 22.3 points and 10.3 rebounds a game in his five years with the team.[3]
In October 1976, the rights to Wicks were sold to the Boston Celtics; Portland went on to win an NBA championship the next season. Wicks played for the Celtics from 1976 to 1978.[3] Wicks then went to theSan Diego Clippers and played there until 1981. Overall, Wicks averaged 16.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game over ten seasons and 760 games in the NBA.[10] His scoring average dropped every year after his rookie season. Following his NBA career, Wicks played one season in Italy.[3]
Following his playing career, Wicks lived for a year in Italy before returning to the United States.[3] He served as an assistant coach at UCLA duringWalt Hazzard's four years as head coach.[11] Following coaching, he entered the real estate field, living inAtlanta,Florida, and Los Angeles.[3]
Wicks was married from 1973 to 1979. He has one daughter, Sibahn Epps.[3]
At 9 a.m. on May 5, 1989, inMira Mesa, San Diego,California, Wicks was seriously injured in a car accident. A loaded cement truck failed to stop at a red light and struck the driver's side of Wicks's vehicle.[12] Wicks had his rupturedspleen removed at Scripps Memorial Hospital inLa Jolla, California. He also had facial lacerations and minor head injuries. A passenger in Wicks' car suffered a mild concussion and facial injuries. The cement truck driver was not injured.[13][14]
As of 2006, Wicks lived inNorth Carolina and Los Angeles.[3]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–72 | Portland | 82 | — | 39.6 | .427 | — | .710 | 11.5 | 4.3 | — | — | 24.5 |
| 1972–73 | Portland | 80 | — | 39.4 | .452 | — | .723 | 10.9 | 5.5 | — | — | 23.8 |
| 1973–74 | Portland | 75 | — | 38.0 | .459 | — | .762 | 9.1 | 4.3 | 1.2 | .8 | 22.5 |
| 1974–75 | Portland | 82 | — | 38.6 | .497 | — | .706 | 10.7 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 21.7 |
| 1975–76 | Portland | 79 | — | 38.5 | .483 | — | .674 | 9.0 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .7 | 19.1 |
| 1976–77 | Boston | 82 | — | 32.2 | .458 | — | .668 | 10.0 | 2.1 | .8 | .7 | 15.1 |
| 1977–78 | Boston | 81 | — | 29.8 | .467 | — | .660 | 8.3 | 2.1 | .8 | .6 | 13.4 |
| 1978–79 | San Diego | 79 | — | 25.6 | .462 | — | .650 | 5.1 | 1.6 | .9 | .5 | 9.8 |
| 1979–80 | San Diego | 71 | — | 30.2 | .423 | .000 | .546 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .7 | 7.1 |
| 1980–81 | San Diego | 49 | — | 22.1 | .437 | .000 | .507 | 4.6 | 2.3 | .8 | .8 | 6.7 |
| Career | 760 | — | 33.9 | .459 | .000 | .685 | 8.7 | 3.2 | 1.0 | .7 | 16.8 | |
| All-Star | 4 | 1 | 20.3 | .450 | — | .722 | 8.3 | 1.0 | — | — | 12.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Boston | 9 | — | 29.0 | .519 | — | .732 | 9.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .3 | 13.1 |
| Career | 9 | — | 29.0 | .519 | — | .732 | 9.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .3 | 13.1 | |
Media related toSidney Wicks at Wikimedia Commons