Charles Thomas Scott, also known as Shaheed Abdul-Aleem, (born December 15, 1948) is an American former 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. He played two seasons in the

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) and eight seasons in the

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). Scott was an Olympic Gold Medalist and was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 2018. Scott is the leader in most points per game with 24.8 in Suns franchise history.

Early life

Scott was born in New York City and grew up primarily in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan ...

. There, his father was a cab driver. A guard/forward, Scott attended

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for one year before transferring to Laurinburg Institute in

Laurinburg, North Carolina Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fayetteville and is home t ...

. Scott transferred to Laurinburg which was famous at the time for preparing basketball players for college. Scott said, "It had a well-known basketball program. I knew my family wouldn't be able to afford college, so a scholarship was going to be my ticket." Scott was valedictorian of his high school senior class. He was also a legend at Rucker Park. While in high school, Scott spent one summer at a basketball program at

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

with coach Lefty Driesell. Driesell recruited Scott who was accepted for early admission at Davidson. However, Scott also explored

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

, the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, and

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

at the suggestion of his coach at Laurinburg. He ultimately accepted the offer to play at UNC because he felt that, as a larger public university, it would be more open to a black player "breaking the color barrier".

College career

Scott played college basketball at the

(UNC) where he was the first

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

scholarship athlete. Scott averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game at UNC, and a career-best 27.1 points per game in his senior season. He was a two-time All-American and a three-time all-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

selection. Scott led UNC to their second and third consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances in 1968 and 1969. Woody Durham, a long-time radio announcer for UNC basketball said, "He really was something. He was the first Carolina player that really would compare to today's player. His build, his speed, his ability—you could take him out of the late 1960s and drop him into today's game, and he wouldn't miss a beat." In addition to breaking the color barrier in UNC basketball, he was also the first African-American to pledge a fraternity at UNC, accepting an offer to join

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...

, in 1967. However, three weeks after pledging, Scott withdrew from the fraternity because of his demanding basketball schedule. Scott was a gold medalist at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

playing for the 1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team. Scott was the fourth leading scorer on the team (8.0) coached by

Henry Iba Henry Payne “Hank” Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwes ...

Professional career

Scott was drafted by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in 1970 but he had already signed a contract with the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Scott was named ABA Rookie of the Year after averaging 27.1 points per game. During his second season with the Squires, he set the ABA record for the highest scoring average in one season (34.6 points per game). However, he became dissatisfied with life in the ABA and joined the NBA's

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in 1972. The Suns traded Paul Silas to the Celtics after the season in order to keep him. At that point, he briefly went by the name Shaheed Abdul-Aleem. Scott continued his stellar play in the NBA, representing the Suns in three straight

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

s (1973, 1974, and 1975), then was traded to the Boston Celtics for Paul Westphal and two draft picks. With the Celtics in the 1975-76 NBA season, Scott won a championship ring against the Suns. Scott later played for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. He retired in 1980 with 14,837 combined ABA/NBA career points. He was inducted into the

in 2018.

ABA and NBA statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left; , , style="text-align:left;", Virginia (ABA) , 84 , , – , , 37.9 , , .463 , , .246 , , .746 , , 5.2 , , 5.6 , , – , , – , , 27.1 , - , style="text-align:left" , , style="text-align:left;", Virginia (ABA) , 73 , , – , , 41.9 , , .449 , , .264 , , .803 , , 5.1 , , 4.8 , , – , , – , , bgcolor="#E0CEF2", 34.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 6 , , – , , 29.5 , , .425 , , – , , .810 , , 3.8 , , 4.3 , , – , , – , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 81 , , – , , 37.8 , , .446 , , – , , .784 , , 4.2 , , 6.1 , , – , , – , , 25.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 52 , , – , , 38.5 , , .459 , , – , , .781 , , 4.3 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 25.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 69 , , – , , 37.6 , , .441 , , – , , .781 , , 4.0 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 24.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 82 , , – , , 35.5 , , .449 , , – , , .797 , , 4.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 43 , , – , , 36.8 , , .444 , , – , , .746 , , 4.4 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , – , , 34.8 , , .433 , , – , , .712 , , 3.3 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 48 , , – , , 29.0 , , .442 , , – , , .775 , , 3.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 79 , , – , , 29.0 , , .442 , , – , , .775 , , 3.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , – , , 33.1 , , .460 , , .182 , , .749 , , 2.7 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, ABA Career , 157 , , – , , 39.8 , , .456 , , .257 , , .775 , , 5.2 , , 5.2 , , , , , , bgcolor="#E0CEF2", 30.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, NBA Career , 560 , , – , , 34.4 , , .444 , , , , .772 , , 3.6 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 17.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Total Career , 717 , , – , , 35.6 , , .448 , , , , .773 , , 4.0 , , 4.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 20.7

Playoffs

, - , 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;", Virginia (ABA) , 12 , , – , , 42.0 , , .409 , , .258 , , .755 , , 6.6 , , 6.8 , , – , , – , , 26.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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;",

, 18 , , – , , 35.1 , , .391 , , – , , .764 , , 4.2 , , 3.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

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

, 9 , , – , , 37.6 , , .406 , , – , , .846 , , 4.2 , , 4.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 3 , , – , , 34.3 , , .300 , , – , , .750 , , 4.3 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

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

, 3 , , – , , 34.7 , , .476 , , – , , .571 , , 4.7 , , 3.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 16.0 , - , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 45 , , – , , 37.4 , , .400 , , .258 , , .766 , , 4.9 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 18.3

Personal life

Scott was childhood friends with actor

Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He played Sanford and Son#Lamont Sanford, Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred G. Sanford, Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) on the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–1 ...

of '' Sanford & Son'' fame. While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Scott married Margaret Holmes. They had a daughter, Holly Scott Emanuel. Scott and his current wife, Trudy, have three children—sons Shaun Scott and Shannon Dean Scott and daughter Simone Scott—and have lived primarily in

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 ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. They currently live in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, where son Shannon used to play for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

. After retiring from the NBA, Scott served as a marketing director for the sports apparel company

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

for several years, then as executive vice president of CTS, a telemarketing firm, before owning his own business.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Charlie 1948 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen ABA All-Stars All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Basketball players from New York City Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Denver Nuggets players Los Angeles Lakers players Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Phoenix Suns players Point guards Shooting guards St. Anthony Hall Stuyvesant High School alumni United States men's national basketball team players Virginia Squires draft picks Virginia Squires players Washington Caps draft picks