| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1941-11-01)November 1, 1941 (age 84) Texas City, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | |||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||
| High school | John C. Fremont (Los Angeles,California) | |||||||||||
| College | Arizona State (1961–1964) | |||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1964: 1st round, 2nd overall pick | |||||||||||
| Drafted by | Detroit Pistons | |||||||||||
| Playing career | 1964–1975 | |||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward | |||||||||||
| Number | 21, 27 | |||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||
| 1964–1965 | Detroit Pistons | |||||||||||
| 1965–1970 | St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks | |||||||||||
| 1970–1975 | Carolina Cougars/Spirits of St. Louis | |||||||||||
| Career highlights | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Career NBA and ABA statistics | ||||||||||||
| Points | 12,619 (16.1 ppg) | |||||||||||
| Rebounds | 4,117 (5.3 rpg) | |||||||||||
| Assists | 2,647 (3.4 apg) | |||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com  | ||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | ||||||||||||
Medals
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Joe Louis Caldwell (born November 1, 1941) is an American former professionalbasketball player. Caldwell played six seasons (1964–1970) in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and five seasons (1970–1975) in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA). Caldwell was one of the few players to be anAll-Star in both leagues, making 2 All-Star teams in each league. Caldwell was a member of theUnited States Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal in the1964 Summer Olympics. Caldwell wasTeam USA's fourth leading scorer.
Caldwell was one of 11 children born inTexas City, nearHouston,Texas. He was the son of a longshoreman and mechanic and a homemaker. When he was six, Caldwell witnessed theTexas City disaster in 1947, when a docked ship blew up and 581 people died with thousands injured. Caldwell's family was left unharmed, but he said decades later, "I can still see people flying through the air."[1]
When Caldwell was 15, he moved with his sister to Los Angeles, California. He emerged as a late-bloomer player andJohn Wooden courted him to play for him atUCLA. He ended up atArizona State instead.[1][2]
Caldwell attendedJohn C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, not playing until his junior year. He then played collegiately atArizona State University.
Caldwell played for Arizona State from 1961 to 1964, setting the Sun Devils career scoring record with 1,515 points (18.2 ppg). His 929 rebounds (11.2), are the second-best total in school history. Caldwell led Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his threevarsity seasons and a 65–18 overall record.[3]
Selected to the U.S.A. Team, Caldwell was the fourth-leading scorer (9.0 ppg) on the1964 United States men's Olympic basketball team. Team U.S.A. went 9–0 under coachHank Iba to capture the Olympic gold medal inTokyo, Japan. Caldwell scored 14 points for the US in the 73–59 gold medal game victory over theSoviet Union.[4]
Nicknamed "Pogo Joe" or "Jumping Joe" for his leaping abilities, Caldwell was a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) guard/forward. In the1964 NBA draft, Caldwell was the No. 2 overall pick by theDetroit Pistons. Olympic teammateJim "Bad News" Barnes went No. 1. Caldwell spent the majority of his NBA career with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks franchise.
After averaging 21.1 points per game for theAtlanta Hawks in the1969–70 NBA season, Caldwell averaged a team-leading 25 points per game during the1970 NBA playoffs, as the Hawks beat theChicago Bulls in the first round before losing to theLos Angeles Lakers in the Western Division Finals.[5] Caldwell then jumped to the rival ABA, playing for theCarolina Cougars from 1970 to 1974.[6]
Caldwell's contract with Carolina called for him to earn $150,000 per year and another $70,000 deferred for five years. A clause called for him to receive $6,600 per month beginning at age 55.[7] Later, the Carolina owner, Tedd Munchak, sued to try to negate the pension. Caldwell was interviewed on60 Minutes, who ran a segment on the lawsuit. Caldwell prevailed and received his pension payments beginning in 1996.[1]
During the 1974–75 ABA season, the Carolina franchise had moved to become theSt. Louis Spirits. Spirits' management blamed Caldwell for influencing team starMarvin Barnes to briefly leave the team. Caldwell denied doing this but he was suspended for "activities detrimental to the best interests of professional basketball." Caldwell never played another professional basketball game. He filed various lawsuits, alleging that he was wrongly blacklisted by the ABA and later the NBA. Tedd Munchak, who was suing Caldwell was now Commissioner of the ABA.[8] Caldwell, who was President of the ABA Players Association, had his case (Caldwell vs. American Basketball Association, 95–1012) go all the way to theSupreme Court.[9]
Caldwell averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in eleven professional seasons. He scored 12,619 combined NBA/ABA career points.[6]
Joe Caldwell is the grandfather ofMarvin Bagley III, a power forward for theMemphis Grizzlies andMarcus Bagley, a small forward for thePhiladelphia 76ers. Bagley's mother is Caldwell's daughter, Tracy Caldwell.[10] Bagley was the No. 2 overall selection in the2018 NBA draft, the same pick as his grandfather in the1964 NBA draft. Caldwell attended his grandson's games throughout high school and college.[11]
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
Source[6]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–65 | Detroit | 66 | 23.4 | .374 | .614 | 6.7 | 1.8 | 10.7 | ||||
| 1965–66 | Detroit | 33 | 21.7 | .423 | .682 | 5.8 | 2.0 | 10.5 | ||||
| 1965–66 | S.L. Hawks | 46 | 24.8 | .447 | .717 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 14.2 | ||||
| 1966–67 | S.L. Hawks | 81* | 27.9 | .426 | .649 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 13.8 | ||||
| 1967–68 | S.L. Hawks | 79 | 33.4 | .463 | .569 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 16.4 | ||||
| 1968–69 | Atlanta | 81 | 33.6 | .507 | .537 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 15.8 | ||||
| 1969–70 | Atlanta | 82* | 34.8 | .507 | .688 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 21.1 | ||||
| 1970–71 | Carolina (ABA) | 72 | 41.8 | .448 | .200 | .558 | 6.8 | 4.2 | 23.3 | |||
| 1971–72 | Carolina (ABA) | 61 | 35.2 | .471 | .250 | .500 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 16.9 | |||
| 1972–73 | Carolina (ABA) | 77 | 35.6 | .496 | .167 | .425 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 16.7 | ||
| 1973–74 | Carolina (ABA) | 79 | 33.6 | .489 | .176 | .496 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 2.2 | .4 | 14.4 | |
| 1974–75 | S.L. Spirits (ABA) | 25 | 33.6 | .494 | .429 | .448 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 2.0 | .4 | 14.6 | |
| Career (NBA) | 468 | 29.6 | .459 | .634 | 5.1 | 2.7 | 15.2 | |||||
| Career (ABA) | 314 | 36.3 | .475 | .225 | .497 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 2.1 | .4 | 17.5 | ||
| Career (overall) | 782 | 32.3 | .466 | .225 | .572 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 2.1 | .4 | 16.1 | ||
| All-Star (NBA) | 2 | 0 | 21.0 | .550 | .600 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 12.5 | ||||
| All-Star (ABA) | 2 | 27.5 | .542 | – | .500 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 14.0 | ||
| All-Star (overall) | 4 | 0 | 24.3 | .545 | – | .556 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | S.L. Hawks | 10 | 31.5 | .462 | .633 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 18.7 | |||
| 1967 | S.L. Hawks | 9 | 24.1 | .400 | .667 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 12.2 | |||
| 1968 | S.L. Hawks | 6 | 24.7 | .326 | .133 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 5.3 | |||
| 1969 | Atlanta | 11 | 36.7 | .485 | .464 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 14.7 | |||
| 1970 | Atlanta | 9 | 43.7 | .470 | .650 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 25.0 | |||
| 1973 | Carolina (ABA) | 12 | 38.9 | .491 | .375 | .480 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 15.6 | ||
| 1974 | Carolina (ABA) | 4 | 26.3 | .471 | .000 | .500 | 6.8 | 3.3 | 2.0 | .0 | 9.5 |
| Career (NBA) | 45 | 32.8 | .449 | .560 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 15.9 | ||||
| Career (ABA) | 16 | 35.8 | .487 | .300 | .484 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 2.0 | .0 | 14.1 | |
| Career (overall) | 61 | 33.6 | .458 | .300 | .544 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 2.0 | .0 | 15.4 | |
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