Nate Archibald
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel "Nate" Archibald (born September 2, 1948, New York City) is a former American professional basketball
player. He spent 14 years playing in the NBA
, most notably with the Kansas City Kings
and Boston Celtics
.
Archibald was a willing passer and an adequate shooter from midrange. However, it was his blinding quickness and incredible speed and shiftiness that made him extremely difficult to guard in the open court, as he would regularly drive right past helpless defenders on his way to the hoop. Once in the paint, Archibald was a veritable triple threat to either pass, lay the ball in or shoot for two points.
, New York City, only played high school basketball for one-and-a-half seasons, and was cut from the varsity squad at DeWitt Clinton High School
as a sophomore. 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 at Loyola of Chicago and a Harlem
, NY, playground impressario, 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 only playing in 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 at Arizona Western College
, transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso
(UTEP) the following year. He had three standout seasons at El Paso, from 1967 to 1970 under the legendary coach Don Haskins.
(19th pick) by the Cincinnati Royals
. He was also drafted by the Texas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association
.
, Archibald led the NBA in scoring and assist
s, becoming the only player to win the titles in both categories in the same season. (In the 1967-68 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.) His scoring average of 34.0 points per game broke the NBA record for a guard. His 910 assists that season (11.4 assists per game) was also an NBA record at the time, breaking Guy Rodgers
' mark of 908. He was named the Sporting News NBA MVP that season.
The Kings traded Archibald to the New York Nets for two draft picks and two players in 1976. Injured for much of the 1976-77 season, he was traded by the Nets to the Buffalo Braves
before the 1977-78 season. Archibald tore his achilles tendon
and never played a regular-season game for the Braves, who traded him to the Boston Celtics as part of a 7-player deal before the start of the next season.
His career at the Celtics started poorly. He showed up 20 pounds overweight. However, he adjusted and helped guide the Celtics to the best record in the NBA for three consecutive years (1979–1982). Archibald won his first and only NBA championship
with the Boston Celtics in the 1980-81 season
alongside young NBA star Larry Bird
.
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 six-time NBA All-Star Game selection (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, and 1982), he was named the 1981 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 to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time team. Nate Archibald was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
from University of Texas-El Paso just prior to finishing his NBA career. Since then he has added a master's degree
from Fordham University
in 1990 and an additional professional diploma in 1994 both in education related fields of study. He began long-distance correspondence work toward a doctorate
in 2000 but ceased his studies because of "his lack of funds and the motivation to complete a long-distance correspondence curriculum." He has stated his hope to complete the degree in the future at Fordham.
Archibald coached in the National Basketball Developmental League in 2001. He resigned a year later to take a position with the NBA's community relations department.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. He spent 14 years playing in the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, most notably with the Kansas City Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
and Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
.
Archibald was a willing passer and an adequate shooter from midrange. However, it was his blinding quickness and incredible speed and shiftiness that made him extremely difficult to guard in the open court, as he would regularly drive right past helpless defenders on his way to the hoop. Once in the paint, Archibald was a veritable triple threat to either pass, lay the ball in or shoot for two points.
High school and college career
Archibald, a playground legend while growing up in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood in the South BronxSouth Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
, New York City, only played high school basketball for one-and-a-half seasons, and was cut from the varsity squad at DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
as a sophomore. 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 at Loyola of Chicago and a Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, NY, playground impressario, 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 only playing in 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 at Arizona Western College
Arizona Western College
Arizona Western College is a public community college located in Yuma, Arizona, United States. AWC offers classes in San Luis, Somerton, Marine Corp Air Station , Wellton, Dateland, and La Paz....
, transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
(UTEP) the following year. He had three standout seasons at El Paso, from 1967 to 1970 under the legendary coach Don Haskins.
Draft
Archibald was selected in the second round of the 1970 NBA Draft1970 NBA Draft
The 1970 NBA Draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on March 23, 1970 before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
(19th pick) by the Cincinnati Royals
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. He was also drafted by the Texas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
.
NBA career
In 1972-73 season1972-73 NBA season
The 1972–73 NBA season was the 27th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the New York Knicks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
, Archibald led the NBA in scoring and assist
Assist (basketball)
In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
s, becoming the only player to win the titles in both categories in the same season. (In the 1967-68 season
1967-68 NBA season
The 1967–68 NBA season was the 22nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
, Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
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.) His scoring average of 34.0 points per game broke the NBA record for a guard. His 910 assists that season (11.4 assists per game) was also an NBA record at the time, breaking Guy Rodgers
Guy Rodgers
Guy William Rodgers was an American professional basketball player born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He spent twelve years in the NBA, and was one of the league's best playmakers in the early to mid 1960s...
' mark of 908. He was named the Sporting News NBA MVP that season.
The Kings traded Archibald to the New York Nets for two draft picks and two players in 1976. Injured for much of the 1976-77 season, he was traded by the Nets to the Buffalo Braves
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were a team in the National Basketball Association. They later moved to San Diego, California to become the San Diego Clippers then subsequently the Los Angeles Clippers....
before the 1977-78 season. Archibald tore his achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
and never played a regular-season game for the Braves, who traded him to the Boston Celtics as part of a 7-player deal before the start of the next season.
His career at the Celtics started poorly. He showed up 20 pounds overweight. However, he adjusted and helped guide the Celtics to the best record in the NBA for three consecutive years (1979–1982). Archibald won his first and only NBA championship
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
with the Boston Celtics in the 1980-81 season
1980-81 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers*Rookie of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Utah Jazz*Coach of the Year: Jack McKinney, Indiana Pacers*All-NBA First Team:**Larry Bird, Boston Celtics...
alongside young NBA star Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
.
Archibald was an All-NBA First Team selection three times (1973
1972-73 NBA season
The 1972–73 NBA season was the 27th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the New York Knicks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
, 1975
1974-75 NBA season
The 1974–75 NBA season was the 29th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Golden State Warriors winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Washington Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
, 1976
1975-76 NBA season
The 1975–76 NBA season was the 30th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
) and an All-NBA Second Team selection two times (1972, 1981
1980-81 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers*Rookie of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Utah Jazz*Coach of the Year: Jack McKinney, Indiana Pacers*All-NBA First Team:**Larry Bird, Boston Celtics...
). A six-time NBA All-Star Game selection (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, and 1982), he was named the 1981 NBA All-Star Game
1981 NBA All-Star Game
1981 NBA All-Star Game, this was the 31st NBA All-Star Game. Date: February 1, 1981, at Coliseum at Richfield; Coaches: Billy Cunningham, Philadelphia 76ers and John MacLeod, Phoenix Suns ; MVP: Nate Archibald, Boston .Team replacements: Eastern Conference— ?? for Atlanta forward Dan Roundfield;...
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 to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time team. Nate Archibald was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Post NBA
He completed his bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from University of Texas-El Paso just prior to finishing his NBA career. Since then he has added a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in 1990 and an additional professional diploma in 1994 both in education related fields of study. He began long-distance correspondence work toward a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 2000 but ceased his studies because of "his lack of funds and the motivation to complete a long-distance correspondence curriculum." He has stated his hope to complete the degree in the future at Fordham.
Archibald coached in the National Basketball Developmental League in 2001. He resigned a year later to take a position with the NBA's community relations department.
See also
- List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
- List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
- List of National Basketball Association season assists leaders
- List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game