David Murphy-Kasim Greenwood (born May 27, 1957) is an American retired 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 (appr ...
player whose
National Basketball Association
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 S ...
(NBA) career spanned 12 years from 1979 to 1991. Greenwood made his NBA debut on October 13, 1979 and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team during the 1979–80 season. A forward/center, he played for the
Chicago Bulls,
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
,
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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
and
Detroit Pistons.
Greenwood was the second overall pick of the
1979 NBA draft. The Chicago Bulls lost the coin toss to 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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
, who drafted future
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
r
Earvin "Magic" Johnson with their number one pick, acquired in a trade with the
New Orleans Jazz.
Before the
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
era in
Chicago, Greenwood was one of the franchise's marquee players along with
Reggie Theus
Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the head men's basketball he ...
and
Orlando Woolridge. On October 24, 1985, Greenwood was traded by the Bulls to the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
in exchange for future Hall of Famer
George Gervin.
On January 26, 1989, Greenwood and Spurs teammate,
Darwin Cook were traded to the
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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
for
Calvin Natt and
Jay Vincent
Jay Fletcher Vincent (born June 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player.
A 6'7" forward, Vincent played at Michigan State University under coach, Jud Heathcote, where he teamed with Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser to win ...
. On October 6, 1989, Greenwood signed as an unrestricted free agent with the
Detroit Pistons, whom he would assist in a victorious effort in the
1990 NBA Finals
The 1990 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1989–90 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The series pitted the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference playoff champion De ...
as a reserve. He would later sign as an unrestricted free agent with the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
on August 17, 1990, until his release on May 21, 1991.
Greenwood attended the
University of California at Los Angeles. He was inducted into the
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...
as a member of the Class of 2021
References
External links
NBA.com : David Greenwood Info Page ''databaseBasketball.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, David
1957 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from California
Centers (basketball)
Chicago Bulls draft picks
Chicago Bulls players
Denver Nuggets players
Detroit Pistons players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from Lynwood, California
Power forwards (basketball)
San Antonio Spurs players
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
UCLA Bruins men's basketball players
Verbum Dei High School alumni
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople