1970s NBA – Page 8 – From Way Downtown

Connie Hawkins: The Hawk Ages Gracefully, 1991

At 48, The Hawk can still fly, but he prefers to lay low and stay close to his nest in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Paul Westphal: Mr. 44 in Phoenix, 1976

This is his fourth year in the league, but the first in which he’s started. At Boston, he played behind such standouts as Jo Jo White and Don Chaney.

Larry Siegfried: Marching to the Beat of His Own Enigma, 1970

His demeanor has become a subject for conversation, pro and con. Just when you are about to consign him to the lower regions of Hades, he goes out on the basketball court and makes a mockery of his critics.

Franklin Mieuli: Phantom of the Hardwood, 1973

He was sitting in his office, which has a brick wall on one side and no window. Its motif is abstract clutter. Somehow it reflects Franklin.

Connie Hawkins Comes Home, 1970

Coaches can’t say enough about a flash-quick man who palms with a pair of hands longer and broader than those of most seven footers.

The Fabulous Fifth, 1976

What do you say after you’ve seen the greatest game of professional basketball ever played? That there should’ve been two winners?

Garfield Heard: On the Rebound, 1975

For some strange reason, the Buffalo Brave who gets less acclaim, less ink, and fewer accolades than any regular on the club is that muscular, bearded, workhorse—Garfield Heard.

The Real Story About the “Big O,” 1971

Some fans criticized the Royals for trading the “Big O.” They said the city owed him something. It made others wonder.

Bill Walton Has a Long Way to Go, 1978

Walton sits in front of his dressing stall and stares down at the floor, treating his chronically aching feet with ice. Reporters surround him and lean forward to hear him speak. However, the words don’t come easily, and when they do come, they are few and far between.

Jim Chones: Learning to Live with the Pressure

“I always wanted to get a degree. I’ve been going back to school every summer to get my degree in philosophy. I don’t know what good it will do me, or if I’ll ever use it. But it’s something I want to have.”