Cleveland Buckner (August 17, 1938 – October 5, 2006) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A forward-center from

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's ...

, he played collegiately for the

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of stude ...

and was selected by 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 New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

in the 6th round (51st pick overall) of the

1961 NBA Draft The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball playe ...

. He played 68 games for the Knicks in the

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

from 1961 to 1963. After Knicks center

Darrall Imhoff Darrall Tucker Imhoff (October 11, 1938 – June 30, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. He spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for six teams from 1960 to 1972. He made an NBA All-Star team, an ...

fouled out in the second half, Buckner was forced into duty against

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

during

Chamberlain's 100-point game Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hershey Sports Arena in H ...

on March 2, 1962. The rookie had a career-high 33 points on 16-of-26 in the field plus 8 rebounds in the historic contest. Starting center

Phil Jordon Philip Jordon (September 12, 1933 – June 7, 1965) was an American professional basketball player. He played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Professional career A 6'10" center from Whitworth University, Jordon ...

was unavailable because of an injury.

External links

* 1938 births 2006 deaths Basketball players from Mississippi Centers (basketball) Jackson State Tigers basketball players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players People from Yazoo City, Mississippi Power forwards (basketball) American men's basketball players {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub