Byron Dean Tolson (born November 25, 1951) 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. Tolson played three seasons for the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

of 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). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

Professional career

Tolson was selected by the

in the 5th round (8th pick, 80th overall) of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and ot ...

, after completing his career at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. He played three seasons for the SuperSonics, appearing in 80 games over his career. Tolson was also selected in the 7th round of the 1974

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

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 ...

. Tolson played in the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) / Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Hazleton Bullets during the 1975–76 season, the Anchorage Northern Knights from 1977 to 1979 and Rochester Zeniths during the 1980–81 season. He was selected to the All-EBA Second Team in 1976. Tolson played eleven years internationally before returning to school to complete his education at the University of Arkansas. He played for Greek club

AEK B.C. AEK Basketball Club ( ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupóleos'', "Athletic Union of Constantinople"), officially AEK Betsson BC for sponsorship reasons, and also known as AEK ...

in the

1983–84 FIBA Korać Cup The 1983–84 FIBA Korać Cup was the 13th edition of FIBA's Korać Cup basketball competition. The French Orthez defeated the Yugoslav Crvena zvezda in the final on March 15, 1984, in Paris, France. This was the third consecutive year in which a Fr ...

. In 2023, Dean Tolson's book, ‘Power Forward: My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree,’ was published. A motivational speaker, he moved from Tacoma, Washington, and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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

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 ...

, 19 , , 4.6 , , .432 , , .647 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 9.8 , , .566 , , .535 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .5 , , .4 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 7.0 , , .000 , , – , , .0 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 80 , , 8.5 , , .546 , , .545 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.0

Playoffs

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

, 4 , , 5.5 , , .125 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0

References

1951 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Anchorage Northern Knights players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas City, Missouri Greek Basket League players New York Nets draft picks Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards Rochester Zeniths players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub