Robert Kauffman (July 13, 1946 – July 25, 2015) was an 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 and coach. Kaufmann was a three-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

Early life

Robert Alan Kauffman was born on July 13, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York, to LeRoy and Anne Kauffman. He attended Scarsdale High School in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

. The Kauffman family operated a business in the saddle and bridle industry known as Kauffman's Boots and Saddles, located on East 24th Street in Manhattan.

College career

Kauffman played collegiately at NAIA Guilford College in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, from 1964 to 1968, playing under Coach Jerry Steele. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound center is credited with turning the Quakers into an NAIA basketball powerhouse. During his four seasons, the Quakers won 86 games with three straight trips to the NAIA Tournament. Kauffman scored 2,570 points on 64% shooting with 1,801 rebounds in his 113-game career. He averaged 22.7 points and 15.9 rebounds per game in his career. He holds Guilford school records for single-game rebounds (32), single-season rebounds (698, 1967–68), career field goals (943), single-season field goal percentage (.712, 1967–68), single-season free throws (273, 1966–67), career free throws (684), and single-season free-throw attempts (344, 1966–67). Kauffman graduated with a history degree in 1968.

Professional career

Seattle SuperSonics (1968–1969)

Kauffman was selected with the third overall pick of the

1968 NBA draft The 1968 NBA draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 3, 1968, and May 8 and 10, 1968, before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. co ...

by the Seattle SuperSonics behind future Hall of Fame inductees

Elvin Hayes Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and ...

and

Wes Unseld Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. (March 14, 1946June 2, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld ...

. Kauffman was also selected in the 1968

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 ...

Draft by the Oakland Oaks, but chose to play in the NBA. As a rookie for Seattle in 1968–69, Kauffman averaged 7.8 points and 5.9 rebounds, playing behind Bob Rule.

Chicago Bulls (1969–1970)

On September 5, 1969, Kauffman was traded by the Seattle SuperSonics with a 1971 third round draft pick ( Clifford Ray was later selected) to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

for Bob Boozer and Barry Clemens. Kauffman played a reserve role for the Bulls in 1969–70, averaging 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12 minutes per game.

Buffalo Braves (1970–1974)

On May 11, 1970, Kauffman was traded by the Chicago Bulls with Jim Washington to 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 ...

for Shaler Halimon and Chet Walker. Kauffman was sent as the player to be named later on May 11, 1970. Later, the expansion

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

acquired him and a 1971 second-round draft pick ( Spencer Haywood was later selected) from the Philadelphia 76ers on the day of the NBA Expansion Draft in exchange for veteran forward Bailey Howell. Kauffman never played for Philadelphia. In 1970–1971, playing for the Buffalo Braves, Kauffman became an All-Star, averaging 20.4 points and 10.7 rebounds for the 22–60 Braves under Coach Dolph Schayes. He was a reserve for the first six games of the season, scoring 26 points total, before being inserted into the starting lineup. The Braves struggled in 1971–1972, again finishing 22–60, but Kauffman was an All-Star for the second time, averaging 18.9 points and 10.2 rebounds. Kauffman had 44 points against

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

and the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

on November 13, 1971. Under new Coach Jack Ramsay, Kauffman was an All-Star again in 1972–1973, averaging 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds for the 21–61 Braves. In 1973–1974, the Braves improved to 42–40, making the playoffs. Kauffman became a reserve, averaging 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17 minutes per game, on a roster that included Hall of Famer

Bob McAdoo Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. ( ; born September 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Mos ...

, Randy Smith, and Gar Heard.

Atlanta Hawks (1974–1975)

On May 20, 1974, Kauffman was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz from the Buffalo Braves in the NBA expansion draft. He was immediately traded by the Jazz in a landmark trade. He was traded with Dean Meminger, a 1974 first round draft pick ( Mike Sojourner was later selected), a 1975 first round draft pick ( David Thompson was later selected), a 1975 second round draft pick ( Bill Willoughby was later selected), a 1976 second round draft pick (

Alex English Alexander English (born January 5, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman. A South Carolina native, English played college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball, South Carolina ...

was later selected), and a 1980 third round draft pick ( Jonathan Moore was later selected) to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

for

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Mar ...

. With chronic groin and hip problems limiting his play, Kauffman played the final season of his career with the 1974–1975 Hawks. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 73 games for the 31–51 Hawks, under Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.

Career totals

Kauffman played seven seasons in the

NBA 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 ...

as a member of the Sonics,

, and

. A three-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

(

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 ...

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, ...

, and

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 ...

), Kauffman averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds for his career. He had his statistically strongest season in 1970–71, when he averaged 20.4 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Braves.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 82 , , – , , 20.2 , , 442 , , – , , .702 , , 5.9 , , 1.0 , , – , , – , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 64 , , – , , 12.1 , , .425 , , – , , .715 , , 3.3 , , 1.2 , , – , , – , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 78 , , – , , 35.6 , , .471 , , – , , .740 , , 10.7 , , 4.5 , , – , , – , , 20.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 77 , , – , , 41.6 , , .497 , , – , , .795 , , 10.2 , , 3.9 , , – , , – , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 77 , , – , , 39.6 , , .505 , , – , , .780 , , 11.1 , , 5.1 , , – , , – , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 74 , , – , , 17.6 , , .467 , , – , , .713 , , 4.4 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Playoffs

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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 ...

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, 3, , –, , 4.7, , .333, , –, , .667, , 2.0, , 1.3, , –, , –, , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;", Buffalo , 2, , –, , 5.0, , .333, , –, , .000, , .5, , 1.0, , .0, , .0, , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , – , , 4.8 , , .333 , , – , , .400 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.2

NBA executive/coaching career

He had a short career as an NBA team executive with the Atlanta Hawks and

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. He spent two seasons as assistant general manager for the Hawks before Detroit hired him as the Pistons' general manager in 1977. He was with the Pistons from May 25, 1977, to July 14, 1978. He served as coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1977–1978 after Herb Brown was fired, going 29–29 in 58 games. Kauffman eventually left the Pistons after a disagreement with team owner Bill Davidson. Kauffman wanted to hire Cotton Fitzsimmons or

Al Bianchi Alfred A. Bianchi (March 26, 1932 – October 28, 2019) was an American professional basketball player, coach, general manager, consultant, and scout. Early years Nicknamed "Blinky", he attended P.S. 4 elementary school and graduated from Long ...

for the coaching vacancy. Davidson wanted

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

. Vitale went 34–60 in his tenure as Pistons coach.

Death

Kauffman died at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife, Judy and four daughters; Lara, Joannah, Carey, and Kate.

Honors

* Kauffman was inducted into Guilford's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973. * Guilford College retired his jersey (#44) in 2009.

Head coaching record

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kauffman, Bob 1946 births 2015 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Brooklyn Buffalo Braves players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players Detroit Pistons head coaches Guilford Quakers men's basketball players NBA All-Stars New Orleans Jazz expansion draft picks Oakland Oaks draft picks Power forwards Scarsdale High School alumni Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players 20th-century American sportsmen