Nathaniel "Tiny"Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professionalbasketball player. He spent 14 years playing in theNational Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with theCincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings andBoston Celtics. In 1991, he was enshrined into both theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and theNew York City Basketball Hall of Fame.
Archibald was a willing passer and an adequate shooter from midrange. However, it was his quickness, speed and shiftiness that made him difficult to guard in the open court, as he would regularly drive past defenders on his way to the basket. This versatility helped Archibald lead the NBA in scoring and assists in the same season (1972–73), making him the first of only two players in league history to achieve such a feat.
Archibald, a playground legend while growing up in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood in theSouth Bronx of New York City, played high school basketball for only one-and-a-half seasons, and was cut from the varsity squad atDeWitt Clinton High School as a sophomore.[1] He returned to the team as a junior. During his time without basketball, Archibald briefly flirted with dropping out of school after having been largely truant in past years. But with the help of two mentors,Floyd Layne and Pablo Robertson, Archibald turned it around. Robertson, a former standout atLoyola of Chicago and aHarlem, New York playground impresario, had seen the gifted, mercurial Archibald in action on the playgrounds and convinced the young man's high school coach to re-instate him on the squad.
Despite playing in just blowouts as a junior, the shy, quiet teen managed to blossom into a high-school star, being named team captain and an All-City selection in 1966. Off the court, Archibald began to attend school regularly and worked to improve his poor academic standing, which deterred most colleges from offering him a scholarship.
To improve his chances of playing major college basketball, Archibald enrolled atArizona Western College, transferring to theUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) the following year. He had three standout seasons at El Paso, from 1967 to 1970 underHall of Fame coachDon Haskins.
Archibald was selected in the second round of the1970 NBA draft (19th pick) by theCincinnati Royals.[2] He was also drafted by theTexas Chaparrals of theAmerican Basketball Association.[3] In his NBA debut, Archibald recorded 17 points and seven assists in a 128–104 loss to the New York Knicks.[4] On March 13, 1971, Archibald set a then-career-high by scoring 47 points in a 136–127 victory over theAtlanta Hawks.[5]
On November 18, 1972, Archibald recorded 51 points and 14 assists in a 127–117 win over the Houston Rockets.[6]
In the1972–73 season, Archibald led the NBA in scoring andassists (with 34 points and 11.4 assists, in 46 minutes a game, with all three averages being career-highs),[7] becoming the first player to win the titles in both categories in the same season (In the1967–68 season,Oscar Robertson led the NBA in points and assists per game but did not win the titles because they were based on totals rather than averages at the time.).[2] Archibald's scoring average of34.0 points per game broke the NBA record for a guard and, as of 2023, is still a record for point guards. His 910 assists that season (11.4 assists per game) were also an NBA record at the time, breakingGuy Rodgers' mark of 908. He was named theSporting News NBA MVP that season.
During the1975 NBA Playoffs, Archibald made the postseason for the first time in his career after the then-Kansas City Kings finished 44–38 in the regular season. Archibald went on to average 20.2 points and 5.3 assists in a six-game series loss in the first round toBob Love and theChicago Bulls.[8]
Archibald played for the Royals/Kings franchise from 1970 to 1976.
Although Archibald was the Kings' most popular player, he was traded to theNew York Nets for two first round draft picks (future all-starOtis Birdsong and rookie of the yearPhil Ford),Jim Eakins andBrian Taylor in 1976.[2][9] Archibald would go on to average a comparatively low 20.5 points per game in his 34 games with the Nets.
Injured for much of the 1976–77 season, Archibald was traded by the Nets to theBuffalo Braves before the 1977–78 season, again for two first round draft picks (this time eventually becoming renowned defenderMicheal Ray Richardson and prolific scorerClifford Robinson), as well asGeorge Johnson. Archibald tore hisAchilles tendon and never played a regular-season game for the Braves.[9]
Buffalo traded Archibald to the Boston Celtics as part of a seven-player deal before the start of the next season.[2][10] His career at the Celtics started poorly. He showed up 20 pounds overweight.[10] However, he adjusted and helped guide the Celtics to the best record in the NBA for three consecutive years (1979–1982).[2] Archibald won his first and onlyNBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the1980–81 season alongside young NBA starLarry Bird. In Game 6 of the1981 NBA Finals, Archibald recorded 13 points and 12 assists as the Celtics closed out the series against the Houston Rockets.[11]
On February 15, 1982, Archibald recorded a tenure-high 23 assists in a 145–144 win over theDenver Nuggets.[12]
After being waived by the Celtics, Archibald played the1983–84 season with the Bucks; this was his final season. He started at point guard in all 46 games he played.[13]
Archibald was an All-NBA First Team selection three times (1973,1975,1976) and an All-NBA Second Team selection two times (1972,1981). A seven-timeNBA All-Star Game selection (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, and 1982),[14] he was named the1981 NBA All-Star Game MVP. Archibald led the NBA in free throws made three times and free throw attempts twice. He competed in 876 professional games, scored 16,841 points (18.8 points per game), and dished out 6,476 assists. He was named one of the50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. In 1991 Archibald was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, and into theNew York City Basketball Hall of Fame in NYC.[15] In 2021, he was announced as part of theNBA's 75th anniversary team.[16] To commemorate the NBA's 75th AnniversaryThe Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Archibald as the 67th greatest player in NBA history.[17]
Archibald was an assistant coach, spending one season in theUniversity of Georgia and two with Texas-El Paso (where he worked withTim Hardaway).[18] He has also coached the New Jersey Jammers of theUSBL and in a Boston recreational league.[19] Archibald coached in theNational Basketball Development League in 2001.[20] He resigned a year later to take a position with the NBA's community relations department.[21] Archibald was also named the head coach for theLong Beach Jam in 2004 in the revivedABA, but he would ultimately resign from his position on January 17, 2005, during their second and final season in the ABA.[22][23][24] The Long Beach Jam later moved to Bakersfield when they moved to theNBA Development League in 2006 and are now currently theMotor City Cruise for theNBA G League.
| 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 | * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | Cincinnati | 82 | — | 35.0 | .444 | — | .757 | 3.0 | 5.5 | — | — | 16.0 |
| 1971–72 | Cincinnati | 76 | — | 43.1 | .486 | — | .822 | 2.9 | 9.2 | — | — | 28.2 |
| 1972–73 | Kansas City–Omaha | 80 | — | 46.0* | .488 | — | .847 | 2.8 | 11.4* | — | — | 34.0* |
| 1973–74 | Kansas City–Omaha | 35 | — | 36.3 | .451 | — | .820 | 2.4 | 7.6 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 17.6 |
| 1974–75 | Kansas City–Omaha | 82 | — | 39.6 | .456 | — | .872 | 2.7 | 6.8 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 26.5 |
| 1975–76 | Kansas City | 78 | — | 40.8 | .453 | — | .802 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 24.8 |
| 1976–77 | New York | 34 | — | 37.6 | .446 | — | .785 | 2.4 | 7.5 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 20.5 |
| 1978–79 | Boston | 69 | — | 24.1 | .452 | — | .788 | 1.5 | 4.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 11.0 |
| 1979–80 | Boston | 80 | 80 | 35.8 | .482 | .222 | .830 | 2.5 | 8.4 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 14.1 |
| 1980–81† | Boston | 80 | 72 | 35.3 | .499 | .000 | .816 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 13.8 |
| 1981–82 | Boston | 68 | 51 | 31.9 | .472 | .375 | .747 | 1.7 | 8.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 12.6 |
| 1982–83 | Boston | 66 | 19 | 27.4 | .425 | .208 | .743 | 1.4 | 6.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 10.5 |
| 1983–84 | Milwaukee | 46 | 46 | 22.6 | .487 | .222 | .634 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| Career | 876 | 268 | 35.6 | .467 | .224 | .810 | 2.3 | 7.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 18.8 | |
| All-Star | 6 | 4 | 27.0 | .450 | — | .833 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 12.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Kansas City–Omaha | 6 | — | 40.3 | .364 | — | .814 | 1.8 | 5.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 20.2 |
| 1980 | Boston | 9 | — | 36.9 | .506 | .500 | .881 | 1.2 | 7.9 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 14.2 |
| 1981† | Boston | 17 | — | 37.1 | .450 | .000 | .809 | 1.6 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 15.6 |
| 1982 | Boston | 8 | — | 34.6 | .429 | .000 | .893 | 2.1 | 6.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 10.6 |
| 1983 | Boston | 7 | — | 23.0 | .324 | .167 | .759 | 1.4 | 6.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 9.6 |
| Career | 47 | — | 34.9 | .423 | .118 | .826 | 1.6 | 6.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 14.2 | |
Archibald completed hisbachelor's degree fromUniversity of Texas-El Paso by going back for three consecutive summers just prior to finishing his NBA career. He then taught in the New York City school system and attended night school at Fordham University. Archibald received amaster's degree fromFordham University in 1990 and a professional diploma in supervision and administration in 1994. He began long-distance correspondence work toward adoctorate fromCalifornia Coast University in 2000, but ceased his studies because of "his lack of funds and the motivation to complete a long-distance correspondence curriculum". Archibald has stated his hope to complete the degree in the future at Fordham.[19]
Three former Nets, Julius Erving (Roosevelt High), Rick Barry (Roselle Park, N.J., High) and Nate Archibald (DeWitt Clinton), also were selected
and Basketball Reference