Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professionalbasketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015.

Spencer Haywood

Haywood atNellis Air Force Base in 2006
Personal information
Born	(1949-04-22)April 22, 1949 (age 75) Silver City, Mississippi, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school	Pershing (Detroit, Michigan)
College	Trinidad State (1967–1968) Detroit Mercy (1968–1969)
NBA draft	1971: 2nd round, 30th overall pick
Drafted by	Buffalo Braves
Playing career	1969–1983
Position	Power forward
Number	24, 42, 31
Career history
1969–1970	Denver Rockets
1970–1975	Seattle SuperSonics
1975–1979	New York Knicks
1979	New Orleans Jazz
1979–1980	Los Angeles Lakers
1980–1981	Reyer Venezia
1981–1983	Washington Bullets
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1980) ABA Most Valuable Player (1970) 4×NBA All-Star (1972–1975) ABA All-Star (1970) ABA All-Star Game MVP (1970) 2×All-NBA First Team (1972,1973) All-ABA First Team (1970) 2×All-NBA Second Team (1974,1975) ABA Rookie of the Year (1970) ABA All-Rookie First Team (1970) ABA scoring champion (1970) ABA rebounding leader (1970) ABA All-Time Team No. 24retired by Seattle SuperSonics Consensus first-teamAll-American (1969) No. 45retired by Detroit Mercy Titans NCAA rebounding leader (1969) Mr. Basketball USA (1967)
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points	17,111 (20.3 ppg)
Rebounds	8,675 (10.3 rpg)
Assists	1,541 (1.8 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats atBasketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals Men'sbasketball Representing United States Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City Team competition

Spencer Haywood was born on April 22, 1949, inSilver City, Mississippi.^[1] He was born three months after his father died, and had 10 brothers and sisters. He grew up in poverty and his family worked assharecroppers on theMississippi delta.^[2] He was born at home with a midwife, and never received a birth certificate, his name being written in a family bible to record his birth.^[3] At age 13, he was the main source of income for his family, earning as little as $2/day or $4/day picking cotton.^[4][5] He worked from sunup to sundown, under the eyes of the landowner's overseer.^[2] He spent a night in jail at age 14, after being falsely charged with threatening to kill a white man. Fearing for his well-being, Haywood's mother sent him to live with his brother in Chicago.^[2]

In 1964, Haywood moved toDetroit, Michigan where he lived with his brother,^[6] residing in theKrainz Woods neighborhood. He attendedPershing High School, playing under coach Will Robinson.^[7] In 1966, age 16, at 6 ft, 7 in (2.01 m) and 220 pounds (99.8 kg), he averaged 29points and 17rebounds per game for Pershing's basketball team, and was named all-state in basketball. As a senior in 1967, now 6 ft, 8 in (2.03 m) tall, Haywood averaged aquadruple double per game: 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 14assists, and 12blocked shots. He led the team to the state championship, winning the championship game 90–66. It is considered one of the great teams in Michigan high school basketball history; and not only included Haywood, but also futureAmerican Basketball Association five-time all-starRalph Simpson.^[8][9][10]

Haywood was originally planning to go to theUniversity of Tennessee, but with the help of coach Robinson, instead attendedTrinidad State Junior College inTrinidad, Colorado.^[7] During the 1967–68 college season, he averaged 28.2 points and 22.1 rebounds per game, and was the junior college player of the year.^[7][11]

In 1968, many African-American college players boycotted playing in the Olympics, which gave Haywood the unusual opportunity as a freshman to make the Olympic team.^[7] Players were not simply selected to the team, but had to participate in seven days of tryout games inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, held in "the Pit". Prominent college players likePete Maravich andCalvin Murphy were cut before making the Olympic team, while Haywood, known as "the kid", was the first player chosen by coachHank Iba.^[3] Due to his exceptional performance and talent, Haywood made the1968 U.S. Olympic team at age 19, becoming the youngest American basketball player in Olympic history.^[11]

In the turmoil of the times, he attended a meeting before the Olympics started, that includedDr. Martin Luther King, as well asTommie Smith,John Carlos,Lee Evans andDr. Harry Edwards (who spearheaded the boycott effort and urged some African-American athletes to make statements during the games, though this was not expected of 19-year olds Haywood andGeorge Forman).^[3][7][12]

Haywood was the leading scorer on the gold medal-winning team at 16.1 points per game, and he set a Team USAfield goal percentage record of .719.^[8][13] His record 145 points in the Olympic tournament stood until 2012 (whenKevin Durant scored 155 points; but who also had a three-point shot available unlike the 1968 games).^[5][3] When he arrived in Detroit after the Olympics, he was greeted at the airport by 4,000 people, including GovernorGeorge Romney.^[3]

Haywood transferred to theUniversity of Detroit in the fall of that year, and led the NCAA in rebounding with a 21.5 average per game while scoring 32.1 points per game during the 1968–69 season. He was named anAll-American. This is considered the single greatest year of any basketball player for the Titans. In 1993, Haywood was inducted into the Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame.^[14] The school retired his No. 45 in 2015.^[15]

Haywood decided to turn pro after his sophomore year, butNational Basketball Association (NBA) rules, which then required a player to wait until four years after his high school class graduated, prohibited him from entering the league.^[16] TheAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) had a similar rule, but league executiveMike Storen came up with the idea for a hardship exemption. With his mother raising 10 children while picking cotton at $2 per day in Mississippi, Haywood met the criteria.^[17][18] He joined theDenver Rockets after they selected him in theABA draft.^[16]

In his 1969–70rookie season, Haywood led the ABA in both scoring at 30.0 points per game and rebounding at 19.5 rebounds per game, while leading the Rockets to the ABA's Western Division Title. In the playoffs, Denver defeated theWashington Caps in 7 games in the Western Division Semifinals (Haywood averaging 36.4 points and 19.7 rebounds a game) before falling to theLos Angeles Stars in the division finals, 4 games to 1 (Haywood averaging 37 points and 19.8 rebounds a game). He was named both theABA Rookie of the Year andABA MVP during the season, and became the youngest ever recipient of the MVP at the age of 21. His 986 field goals made, 1,637 rebounds, and 19.5 rebound per game average are the all-time ABA records for a season.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][15]} Haywood also won the ABA's1970 All-Star Game MVP that year after recording 23 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots for the West team.^[25]

In 1970, despite the NBA's eligibility rules, Haywood joined theSeattle SuperSonics, and with SuperSonics ownerSam Schulman launched anantitrust suit against the league (Haywood v. National Basketball Association). The case went all the way to theU.S. Supreme Court which found in favor of Haywood 7–2.^[26] The suit and its impact on college basketball and the NBA was the focus of a 2020 bookThe Spencer Haywood Rule: Battles, Basketball, and the Making of an American Iconoclast by Marc J. Spears and Gary Washburn.^[27] The effect of the Court's ruling was to allow players to come into the NBA from high school (such asLeBron James), or before graduating college.^[28]

Haywood was named to theAll-NBA First Team in 1972 and 1973 and the All-NBA Second Team in 1974 and 1975.^[29] Through the 2024 season, Haywood holds the following single season records for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise (The SuperSonics became theOklahoma City Thunder in the 2008-09 season.^[30]): 889 2-point field goals (1972-73), 13.4 rebounds per game (1973-74), and 43.4 minutes per game (1971-72); and holds the following single season records for the Seattle SuperSonics only: 29.2 points per game (1972-73).^[31] Haywood played in fourNBA All-Star Games while with Seattle (1971-75), including a strong 23-point, 11-rebound performance in 1974.^[1][32] He was in the top-10 NBA MVP voting twice (1971-73) and top-20 two other times (1973-75).^[1] In the 1974–75 season, the team's 8th year in the NBA, he helped lead the SuperSonics to their first playoff berth.^[33][30] Overall, during his five seasons with Seattle, Haywood averaged 24.9 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game.^[1]

In October 1975, the SuperSonics traded him to theNew York Knicks for $1.3 million, a first round draft pick, andGene Short.^[34] The 1975-76 Knicks still featuredWalt Frazier,Earl Monroe andBill Bradley, but no longer hadWillis Reed orDave DeBusschere from the 1973 championship team; and even with Haywood (19.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game), did not make the playoffs.^[35][36] He later teamed withBob McAdoo, who was traded to the Knicks 20 games into the 1976-77 season, but again the Knicks missed the playoffs. McAdoo led the team in scoring and rebounding, while Haywood averaged 16.5 points and 9 rebounds a game.^[37][38]

Haywood played another full year for the Knicks (1977-78), making the playoffs, but he was only averaging 26.3 minutes per game and had then career lows in scoring and rebounding.^[1][39] He was averaging 20.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game when the Knicks traded him to theNew Orleans Jazz 34 games into the 1978-79 season forJoe Meriweather.^[1][40] He finished the season averaging 24 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Jazz, but he would never approach those numbers again.^[1]

He spent 1979-80 season with theLos Angeles Lakers (1979-80).^[1] During the late 1970s, Haywood became addicted tococaine. He was dismissed from the Lakers by then-coachPaul Westhead during the1980 NBA Finals for falling asleep during practice due to his addiction. He subsequently fought to overcome drug and alcohol abuse, and has worked to maintain his sobriety over the following decades.^[26][41][42]

The next season Haywood played in Italy forReyer Venezia Mestre (then under the sponsor name "Carrera Reyer Venezia") along withDražen Dalipagić,^[43] before returning to the NBA to play two seasons with theWashington Bullets (1981-83).^[1]

After his playing career, he became an advocate for retired ABA and NBA players to obtain health benefits and pensions; and also served as chair of theNational Basketball Retired Players Association.^[28]

Haywood was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2015.^[44]Charles Barkley played an important role in advocating for Haywood's inclusion.^[28]

The NBA honored him during the 2010 All-Star weekend in recognition of his pioneering legal efforts.^[26]

Haywood's number 24 jersey was retired by the SuperSonics during a halftime ceremony on February 26, 2007.^[45]

Haywood currently resides inLas Vegas. He was married to fashion modelIman from 1977 until 1987, and they had a daughter, Zulekha (born 1978). He remarried in 1990 and with his wife, Linda, he has three daughters; Courtney Nikkiah, Shaakira and Isis Chanel. He has 3 grandchildren (as of early 2024); 2 grandsons from 2 of his younger daughters and a granddaughter from Zulekha named Lavina. His wife Linda (Fay) died in 2022 and this information was shared on Spencer's social media accounts.

Haywood was lifelong friends withLonnie Lynn, his teammate on theDenver Rockets.^[46] He is the godfather of Lynn's son, rapperCommon.^[46]

Haywood is a huge fan ofjazz and has hosted weekly two-hour weekend jazz shows in Seattle (1971–1975,KYAC)^[47][48] and New York (1976–1978,WRVR).^[49]

Haywood was featured in the first season of the HBO show,Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, where he was portrayed by actorWood Harris.^[50]

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
• Haywood v. National Basketball Association

• Career statistics fromNBA.com and Basketball Reference
• Spoken Word: Spencer Haywood Interview with Michael Tillery of Blacksportsnetwork.com
• “In Black America; Spencer Haywood: Drugs Destroyed My Career,” 1989-10-01,KUT Radio,American Archive of Public Broadcasting