George Trapp Jr. (July 11, 1948 – January 21, 2002) 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.

Amateur career

A 6'8" forward/center from

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Monrovia is the fourth-oldest General-law municipality, general-law city in Los Angeles County and the L ...

by way of

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 ...

, Trapp played his senior year of high school basketball at Monrovia High School in 1966–67 where Trapp contributed to the Wildcats first CIF basketball Championship. Trapp then went on to play college basketball, initially at

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...

, leading the team to a state community college title, then transferring to

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

, following PCC coach

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Reb ...

who had taken the head coaching position at LBSU.George Trapp
Long Beach State Athletics. Retrieved on August 4, 2009. Trapp won two

Pacific Coast Athletic Association The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

MVP Awards with Long Beach.Steve Addy and Jeffrey F. Karzen.
The Detroit Pistons: Four Decades of Motor City Memories
'. 2002. 79. In 1971, his senior year, Trapp led Long Beach State to the Elite Eight of the

1971 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1971, and ended with the cham ...

, but the team lost 57–55 to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, the eventual winner of the tournament.

Professional career

After his college career ended, Trapp was selected by 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 ...

with the fifth pick of the

1971 NBA draft The 1971 NBA draft was the 25th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 29 and 30, 1971, before the 1971–72 NBA season, 1971–72 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting ...

. He played six seasons in the NBA with the Hawks (1971–1973) 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 ...

(1973–77), and averaged 8.8 points per game over his career. He was known for his outside shooting and "electrifying drives to the hoop". His best scoring season was his second year with Atlanta when he averaged 11.3 ppg and 5.9 rpg in 24.1 mpg as a top reserve in the 1972-73 Atlanta Hawks season. He was traded to his hometown Detroit Pistons for a first-round draft choice that off-season. With Detroit, he became a key reserve, helping the Pistons to the post-season in each of his 4 years with the team. After his release by Detroit at the start of the 1976-77 season, he played for the Rochester in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

in the 1977–78 season, and then briefly for the

U/Tex Wranglers The U/Tex Wranglers were a professional basketball team and one of the pioneers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in its maiden season in 1975. History Universal Textile Mills, Inc., a company owned by Patricio Luis "P. L." Lim and ...

in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

in 1979.

Personal life

His brother John Trapp was drafted with the 15th overall pick in 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 ...

. Both Trapp brothers played at Pasadena City College (PCC) and are members of the PCC Athletics Hall of Fame, with George honored in 2013. George is also a member of the Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame, inducted in 1991. On January 9, 2002, Trapp was stabbed in the stomach during a fight with a roommate in Detroit. He died twelve days later.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trapp, George 1948 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in France American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Detroit Centers (basketball) Dallas Chaparrals draft picks Deaths by stabbing in Michigan Detroit Pistons players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Monrovia High School alumni Pasadena City Lancers men's basketball players People murdered in Michigan Power forwards Texas Chaparrals draft picks 2002 murders in the United States