Purvis Short (born July 2, 1957) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

of the

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(NBA) from 1978 to 1990. A 6'7"

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

, Short averaged 17.3 points per game over his twelve-season career in the NBA. He is currently the Warriors ninth all-time leading scorer. After a brilliant career at Jackson State, Short was selected fifth overall in the 1978 NBA draft. Short was affectionately nicknamed "Rainbowman" because of the distinctive rainbow-like high arc of his jump shots, something he stated he obtained in high school. He was a role player and

sixth man The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starting lineup, starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in, and the first to be used against the other team's subst ...

his first few years in the league. Short was a starter by the 1984–85 season, and scored a career high 59 points in a game against the

in 1984. After leaving the NBA, he played one year of basketball in Israel, and is currently the director of the NBA Players Association's Department of Player Programs.

College career

Born in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

, Purvis is the younger brother of

Gene Short Eugene Short Jr. (August 7, 1953 – March 16, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6'6" 200 lb small forward and attended Jackson State University. Short was from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was selected 9th o ...

, who played one season in the league with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. Purvis attended Blair Center Hattiesburg High School, where he led his team to the state championship title in 1974. He was allegedly recruited by 150 colleges upon graduation. He followed in his brother's footsteps at

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

, where he became the school's all-time leading scorer. He was the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's second leading scorer in 1978, averaged 8.9 rebounds per game, and was named SWAC Player of the Year in 1977 and 1978.

Professional career

Short was drafted with the fifth overall pick of the 1978 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors who passed up drafting

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

, who was drafted sixth. In his rookie season, Short scored 795 points for a 10.6

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

average. The next year, Short had a 17.0 point per game average, with a career high .500

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

in 62 games. The Warriors traded for

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warrior ...

prior to the 1980–81 season, moving Short to a reserve role. That year he played in 79 games, where he had 391 rebounds, a career high 249 assists, and a 16.1 points per game average. The next few seasons he was the Warriors

, playing behind Joe Barry Carroll, until gaining the starting job prior to the 1984–85 season. Short started working out with Pete Newell during the off-seasons, which Short later claimed help improve his shooting skills significantly. During a November 17, 1984 game against the

, Short scored a career high 59 points during a 131–114 loss. He hit 20 of 28 field goal attempts and 15

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s. At the time, only nine other players had scored more points in one game, and it was the most points scored in the NBA since David Thompson and George Gervin scored 73 and 63 points respectively on April 9, 1978. Excluding

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

's many games of 60 or over points as a Warrior, it was also the third highest total in franchise history, behind

Joe Fulks Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player. The NBA's first scoring champion, he was sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously en ...

' 63 points in 1949 and

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

's 64 points in 1974. He also scored 57 points against the

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and 46 against the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

that season. Short finished the 1984–85 season with an average of 28.0 points per game, and was the NBA's fourth leading scorer. During the off-season, Short got involved in a contract dispute and held out for four weeks, but the Warriors managed to come to a contract agreement with him. He ended up with a 25.5 points per game average in 64 games in 1985–86, finishing fifth in the league in scoring. Short missed two months early in the 1986–87 season due to knee surgery. He missed further time with a pulled thigh muscle in March. Golden State reached the playoffs, an achievement Short later recalled as "the best time" in his Warriors career. He ended up appearing in 34 games that year, with an 18.3 points per game average. He was traded to the

for Dave Feitl and a future first-round pick prior to the 1987–88 campaign. At the time of the trade, Short averaged 19.4 points per game in nine seasons with the Warriors and was sixth on the all-time scoring list while second in steals. He averaged 14.3 points per games in 81 games played that year, with 222 rebounds and 162 assists. The next season, Short had a career low 7.4 points per game in 65 games, 16 of them starts. Prior to the start of the 1989–90 season, Short signed as a free agent with the

, where he played in all 82 games, starting 28 of them. He scored 29 points in a 109–101 win against the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

on January 11. He could not come to an agreement with the Nets over the term of his contract and retired at season's end. After leaving the NBA in 1990, Short took a year off basketball. In early 1991 he returned to play, this time in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Short led the team to a successful season that ended in a 3–2 loss to archrivals Maccabi Tel Aviv during the

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s. He retired at the end of the season, in 1992.

After basketball

Short took a job with the NBA Players Association's Department of Player Programs, where he was later named director of the program in 1999. He was previously the NBA' Players' Union vice president from 1987 to 1990. He was inducted to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He currently lives in Houston.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 75 , , – , , 22.7 , , .479 , , – , , .671 , , 4.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 62 , , – , , 26.4 , , .503 , , .000 , , .812 , , 5.1 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 79 , , – , , 29.2 , , .475 , , .176 , , .820 , , 4.9 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 76 , , 8 , , 23.4 , , .488 , , .214 , , .801 , , 3.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 67 , , 57 , , 35.8 , , .487 , , .267 , , .828 , , 5.3 , , 3.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 79 , , 76 , , 37.3 , , .473 , , .306 , , .793 , , 5.5 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 22.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 78 , , 77 , , 39.5 , , .460 , , .313 , , .817 , , 5.1 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 28.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 64 , , 63 , , 37.9 , , .482 , , .306 , , .865 , , 5.1 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 25.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 34 , , 15 , , 27.9 , , .479 , , .235 , , .856 , , 4.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 81 , , 11 , , 24.1 , , .481 , , .238 , , .858 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 16 , , 17.8 , , .413 , , .273 , , .865 , , 2.8 , , 1.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 82 , , 24 , , 27.0 , , .455 , , .286 , , .835 , , 3.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 13.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 842 , , 347 , , 29.2 , , .474 , , .282 , , .824 , , 4.3 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 17.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 10, , 2, , 25.3, , .463, , .000, , .889, , 3.3, , 2.7, , 1.2, , 0.2, , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 0, , 17.8, , .269, , .000, , 1.000, , 2.3, , 0.3, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 0, , 9.3, , .381, , .000, , .600, , 2.3, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 4.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , 2 , , 20.1 , , .424 , , .000 , , .878 , , 2.8 , , 1.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 10.4

European leagues

References

External links

Career statistics
@ basketball-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Purvis 1957 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel Basketball players from Mississippi Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Houston Rockets players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Jackson State Tigers basketball players New Jersey Nets players Sportspeople from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Shooting guards Small forwards American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen