| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1955-01-29)January 29, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 2016(2016-11-09) (aged 61) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Garey (Pomona, California) |
| College | Oregon (1973–1977) |
| NBA draft | 1977: 1st round, 4th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Washington Bullets |
| Playing career | 1977–1989 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 42, 4, 5 |
| Career history | |
| 1977–1985 | Washington Bullets |
| 1985–1987 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1987–1988 | VL Pesaro |
| 1989 | Libertas Forlì |
| 1989 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 9,953 (12.4 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,858 (6.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,733 (2.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Gregory Ballard (January 29, 1955 – November 9, 2016) was an American professionalbasketball player and NBA assistant coach. A collegiateAll-American atOregon, Ballard averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds over an eleven-season NBA career with theWashington Bullets,Golden State Warriors and briefly, theSeattle SuperSonics.
Born in Los Angeles to parents William Ballard and Annie Clark, Ballard had three brothers and four sisters. Ballard graduated fromGarey High School inPomona, California, in 1973, where he also played baseball. A pitcher, Ballard was selected by theMontreal Expos in the 10th round (137th overall) of the 1973 Amateur Draft.[1][2][3]
Ballard chose basketball and attended theUniversity of Oregon, where he played in the collegiate level at theforward position.Playing for CoachDick Harter at Oregon, from 1973 to 1977, Ballard played 115 career games on Oregon teams with the nickname "Kamikaze Kids," along with teammatesErnie Kent,Stu Jackson andRon Lee.[4]
In his career at Oregon, Ballard had 1,114 career rebounds, still the most in program history, averaging 9.7 rebounds. He averaged 15.9 points, with his 1,829 total career points, ranking fourth in school history.[5][6]
Ballard set Oregon's single-game scoring record of 43 points, in aNational Invitation Tournament game againstOral Roberts University on March 9, 1977.[6]
Ballard was selected by theWashington Bullets with the 4th overall pick in the 1st round of the1977 NBA draft, behindKent Benson (Milwaukee Bucks),Otis Birdsong (Kansas City Kings), andMarques Johnson (Milwaukee Bucks). As a rookie in 1977–1978, Ballard averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 76 games as a key reserve for CoachDick Motta, playing besideNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame inducteesWes Unseld andElvin Hayes, along withMitch Kupchak,Phil ChenierBob Dandridge andKevin Grevey. The Bullets defeated the Atlanta Hawks (2–0), San Antonio Spurs (4–2) and Philadelphia 76ers (4–2) in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.[7]
In the 1978NBA Finals, the Bullets defeated theSeattle SuperSonics 4–3 to capture theNBA Championship. Averaging 10 minutes per game in the series, Ballard averaged 3.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists.[8]
In 1978–1979, Ballard averaged 7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists as the Bullets finished 54–28. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks (4–3) and San Antonio Spurs (4–3) in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. In the 1979NBA Finals, the Bullets again met the SuperSonics, but were defeated 4–1 in the rematch, as Ballard averaged 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the series.[9][10]
Ballard became a starter for the Bullets in 1979–1980, averaging 15.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals. The Bullets lost in the first round of the playoffs to Philadelphia (2–0).[11]
Ballard averaged 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists under new CoachGene Shue in 1980–1981, as Washington finished 39–43 and missed the playoffs.[12]
Becoming the Bullets' leading scorer in 1981–1982, Ballard averaged 18.8 points along with 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals. The Bullets defeated the New Jersey Nets 2–0 in the Eastern Conference playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics withLarry Bird,Kevin McHale andRobert Parish 4–1.[13]
Playing on the front line withJeff Ruland andRick Mahorn in 1982–1983, Ballard averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals, as the Bullets finished 42–40, missing the playoffs.[14]
Washington returned to the playoffs in 1983–1984, with Ballard averaging 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals. The Bullets were defeated by eventual NBA Champion Boston 3–1, as Ballard averaged 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the series.[15][16]
Ballard averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 1984–1985. Washington finished 40–42, losing in the playoffs to the Philadelphia 76ers 3–1.[17]
On June 17, 1985, Ballard was traded by the Washington Bullets to theGolden State Warriors for a 1985 2nd round draft pick (Manute Bol was later selected) and a 1987 2nd round draft pick (Duane Washington was later selected).[18] Ballard then averaged 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in two seasons with Golden State and CoachGeorge Karl as a key reserve, playing withSleepy Floyd,Joe Barry Carroll,Chris Mullin andTerry Teagle.[19]
On July 1, 1988, Ballard was released by the Golden State Warriors after not playing in 1987–1988. In 1988–1989, He worked under Coach George Karl as a player/assistant coach with theAlbany Patroons of theContinental Basketball Association and averaged 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds with 1.4 assists per game in his 7-game career with the Albany. On February 13, 1989, he signed a 10-day contract with the Seattle SuperSonics and appeared in his final two NBA games.[18]
In 807 career games, Ballard had career averages of 12.1 points, 6.2rebounds, 2.2assists and 1.1 steals.[18][20]
Ballard became a coach and scout after his playing career ended. In 1989, Ballard was as an assistant coach forIl Messaggero Roma in Italy. Until his death, he was an assistant coach and a scout in the NBA.[21] Ballard worked a total of 21 seasons as an assistant coach and a scout for a number of franchises, including the Atlanta Hawks,Minnesota Timberwolves andDallas Mavericks.[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 | * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–78† | Washington | 76 | — | 12.3 | .425 | — | .772 | 3.5 | .8 | .4 | .2 | 4.9 |
| 1978–79 | Washington | 82* | — | 18.9 | .465 | — | .692 | 5.5 | 1.4 | .9 | .4 | 7.8 |
| 1979–80 | Washington | 82 | — | 29.7 | .495 | .340 | .753 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | .4 | 15.6 |
| 1980–81 | Washington | 82 | — | 31.8 | .463 | .219 | .847 | 7.1 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .5 | 15.5 |
| 1981–82 | Washington | 79 | 79 | 37.3 | .475 | .409 | .830 | 8.0 | 3.2 | 1.7 | .3 | 18.8 |
| 1982–83 | Washington | 78 | 78 | 36.4 | .473 | .351 | .781 | 6.5 | 3.4 | 1.7 | .3 | 18.0 |
| 1983–84 | Washington | 82* | 82 | 32.9 | .481 | .133 | .798 | 6.0 | 3.5 | 1.1 | .4 | 14.5 |
| 1984–85 | Washington | 82* | 77 | 32.5 | .480 | .304 | .795 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 1.2 | .4 | 13.1 |
| 1985–86 | Golden State | 75 | 14 | 23.9 | .477 | .486 | .802 | 5.6 | 1.1 | .9 | .1 | 8.8 |
| 1986–87 | Golden State | 82* | 7 | 19.3 | .440 | .375 | .747 | 4.1 | 1.3 | .6 | .2 | 7.1 |
| 1988–89 | Seattle | 2 | 0 | 7.5 | .125 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Career | 802 | 337 | 27.5 | .472 | .338 | .787 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .3 | 12.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978† | Washington | 19 | — | 12.8 | .333 | — | .780 | 4.2 | .9 | .5 | .2 | 3.9 |
| 1979 | Washington | 19* | — | 16.4 | .525 | — | .756 | 4.8 | .9 | .5 | .3 | 7.2 |
| 1980 | Washington | 2 | — | 36.5 | .321 | — | .571 | 7.0 | 3.5 | .5 | .5 | 11.0 |
| 1982 | Washington | 7 | — | 38.3 | .360 | — | .840 | 9.0 | 3.1 | 2.0 | .4 | 13.3 |
| 1984 | Washington | 4 | — | 42.0 | .458 | .000 | .923 | 6.0 | 3.5 | 1.8 | .8 | 16.5 |
| 1985 | Washington | 4 | 0 | 16.3 | .458 | .000 | .889 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .8 | .0 | 7.5 |
| 1987 | Golden State | 10 | 0 | 17.9 | .542 | .400 | .750 | 4.0 | 1.9 | .8 | .0 | 5.9 |
| Career | 65 | 0 | 23.1 | .433 | .308 | .793 | 5.0 | 1.6 | .8 | .2 | 7.4 | |
Ballard died on November 9, 2016, fromprostate cancer. Ballard was survived by his wife Donna, and their children, Lawrence, Gabrielle and Gregory Jr.[22][6]
“I would say this about Greg Ballard – and you can ask any question you want but my opening statement would be – for a guy who played in the league for 10 years and was a good player, I found him to be one of the most humble people I have ever met in my life,” said Gary Schmidt, a colleague as a scout for theBoston Celtics. “There was no agenda, there was no attitude, there was no hey-I-played-in-the-league. He was so down to Earth and humble. Just a very good person. Always positive and upbeat.”[20]
· Basketball Reference