William P. Melchionni (born October 19, 1944) is an American former

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) and

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA) player. A three time All-Star, Melchionni is one of only four players to win NBA and ABA championships.

Early life

Melchionni was a guard from Bishop Eustace Prep (in his hometown of

Pennsauken Township, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 2 ...

). His teams won two state championships. Melchionni was a collegiate star in the mid-1960s at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

and was the Most Valuable Player in the 1966 NIT, as Villanova finished in third place in the tournament. Melchionni averaged 27.6 points as a senior at Villanova, as the team finished 18–11. As a junior, in 1964–1965, he averaged 19.4 points for the 23-5 Wildcats, who ended up #8 in the national rankings. In the 1966 season, the Wildcats won 9 of their last 10 games, finishing 3rd in the

1966 National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament was originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938. Responsibility for its administration was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate ...

, with Melchionni chosen as Tournament MVP. Melchionni scored 1,612 points during his career at Villanova. Melchionni graduated in 1966 from Villanova with a B.S. Degree in economics.

Professional career

Upon graduation from Villanova, Melchionni was a 2nd-round (19th) overall pick by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in the 1966 NBA draft. Melchionni joined the

Phillips 66ers The Phillips 66ers (also known as the Oilers) were an amateur basketball team located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, sponsored and run by the Phillips Petroleum Company. The 66ers were a national phenomenon that grew from a small-town team to an orga ...

AAU Elite team before returning to his hometown to join the

in 1966–1967. Immediately, Melchionni was a key reserve on what is, statistically speaking, the greatest 76ers team ever, the 1967 NBA champions led by

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 ...

, Luke Jackson,

Hal Greer Harold Everett Greer ( ; June 26, 1936 – April 14, 2018) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1958 through 1973. A ...

, Chet Walker,

Billy Cunningham William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA' ...

, and fellow Villanova alum Wali Jones. The team was coached by another AAU Elite alum,

Alex Hannum Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player, Hannum played for six different teams, most notably with the Milwaukee (later St. Louis) Hawks, where he played ...

. Melchionni played in 71 games, averaging 4.3 points and 1.3 assists for the championship 76ers. After another season in Philadelphia, Melchionni then played for the Trenton Colonials of the Eastern Professional Basketball League in 1968–1969. In 1969–1970, Melchionni found a home in the upstart ABA, joining the

New York 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 ...

. With the Nets, he became a 3-time ABA All-Star, leading the league in assists multiple times and winning two more championships. In 1969–1970, he averaged 15.2 points and 5.7 assists; in 1970–1971: 17.6 points and 8.3 assists (leading the ABA); in 1971–1972: 21.0 points and 8.4 assists (leading the ABA); and in 1972–1973 12.3 points and 7.4 assists. In 1971–1972, Melchionni suffered a broken hand. In his Nets career, he played alongside

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 ...

and a young

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

. After the Nets drafted future ABA All-Star Brian Taylor in 1972, Melchionni became a key reserve player on the 1974 and 1976 ABA championship teams. He averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 assists in seven seasons with the Nets. In his entire career, Melchionni averaged 10.6 points and 5.0 assists in 646 games. Of his career, Melchionni said, "With Julius, we won two ABA titles. To be able to say I played with and won championships with Wilt and Julius, arguably two of the top 10 players in basketball history, means something special to me."

Post-playing career

Melchionni became the general manager of the Nets for two years after retiring as a player. Due to financial constraints on the Nets, he was forced to sell Erving to the 76ers to fund the Nets fee for joining the NBA in the ABA-NBA merger. He resigned from the Nets on March 15, 1978. Melchionni worked at Salomon Brothers Investment Bank after leaving the Nets.

Awards and personal life

Melchionni played in three ABA All-Star Games, and was named to the All-ABA First Team in 1972. Melchionni led the ABA in assists per game in 1971, 1972, and 1973. In 1995, Melchionni's number 25 jersey was retired by Villanova. The New Jersey Nets retired Melchionni's number 25. His is one of only seven retired Nets jerseys, joining (#3)

Dražen Petrović Dražen Petrović (; 22 October 1964 – 7 June 1993) was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s with Cibona and Real Madri ...

, (#5)

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, (#15)

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

, (#23) John Williamson, (#32) Julius Erving, and (#52) Buck Williams Melchionni was ranked #15 on a list of All-Time Nets players. Melchionni's brother Gary was a two-year captain for

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and was an All-ACC performer. Gary's son and Bill's nephew, Lee Melchionni, played for Duke from 2002 to 2006. Bill's brother Bob followed Bill at Villanova and played from 1966 through 1969.

Career statistics

NBA/ABA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 73 , , 9.5 , , .391 , , , , .650 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , , , , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 10.7 , , .435 , , , , .702 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , , , , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 80 , , 39.5 , , .465 , , .179 , , .820 , , 2.9 , , 5.7 , , , , , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 81 , , 40.5 , , .451 , , .091 , , .814 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 8.3* , , , , , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 80 , , 41.6 , , .499 , , .105 , , .808 , , 3.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 8.4* , , , , , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 61 , , 30.3 , , .450 , , .400 , , .840 , , 2.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 7.4* , , , , , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;", † , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 56 , , 20.5 , , .420 , , .217 , , .831 , , 1.4 , , 3.7 , , .9 , , .1 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 77 , , 18.0 , , .487 , , .296 , , .795 , , 1.0 , , 4.2 , , .9 , , .1 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;", † , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 67 , , 17.8 , , .416 , , .391 , , .849 , , 1.3 , , 4.0 , , .8 , , .1 , , 5.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (NBA) , 144 , , 10.1 , , .412 , , , , .673 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , , , , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (ABA) , 502 , , 30.6 , , .465 , , .236 , , .819 , , 2.2 , , 6.1 , , .9 , , .1 , , 12.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 646 , , 26.0 , , .459 , , .236 , , .809 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , .9 , , .1 , , 10.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star (ABA) , 3 , , 22.0 , , .400 , , – , , .833 , , 3.7 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 7.0

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , , , .000 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , , , , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

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

, 9 , , 5.6 , , .333 , , , , .500 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , , , , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 7 , , 45.1 , , .462 , , .333 , , .816 , , 3.1 , , 4.7 , , , , , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 5 , , 41.0 , , .537 , , – , , .923 , , 1.4 , , 8.2 , , , , , , 22.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 11 , , 34.2 , , .401 , , .000 , , .804 , , 2.4 , , 6.3 , , , , , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 5 , , 34.8 , , .558 , , .333 , , .810 , , 2.0 , , 6.2 , , , , , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;",

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

† , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 6 , , 10.0 , , .500 , , – , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , 2.7 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 5 , , 21.6 , , .359 , , .167 , , .714 , , 2.4 , , 6.4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;",

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

† , style="text-align:left;", N.Y. Nets (ABA) , 6 , , 6.0 , , .286 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (NBA) , 10 , , 5.5 , , .308 , , , , .333 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , , , , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (ABA) , 45 , , 28.3 , , .451 , , .167 , , .831 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , 11.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 55 , , 24.2 , , .443 , , .167 , , .811 , , 1.8 , , 4.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 9.9

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melchionni, Bill 1944 births Living people ABA All-Stars American men's basketball players Basketball players from Camden County, New Jersey Basketball players from Philadelphia Bishop Eustace Preparatory School alumni NBA players with retired numbers New York Nets players Sportspeople from Pennsauken Township, New Jersey Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Phillips 66ers players Phoenix Suns expansion draft picks Point guards Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players