Mel Grant Counts (born October 16, 1941) is an American former
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 who played 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) from 1964 to 1976. An excellent outside shooter for a 7 footer, he was on the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold at the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...
. 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
Oregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...
and was selected 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 the
1964 NBA draft. The Celtics won the
NBA Championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
in 1965 and 1966 with Counts on the team as
Bill Russell
William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...
's backup, but he was traded for the 1967 season to the
Baltimore Bullets. Halfway through that season he was traded 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
, who made it to the playoffs that year.
The next three seasons Counts' Lakers made it to the
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
, where they would play in and ultimately lose three years in a row. In the
1969 NBA Finals, Counts indirectly played a role in one of the most controversial coaching decisions in NBA history. In game 7, starting Laker center Wilt Chamberlain, who had never fouled out of a game, picked up his 5th foul with 6 minutes to play. A minute later, Wilt came off the floor limping and was replaced by Counts with the Lakers trailing the Celtics by nine points. The Lakers cut the deficit to one point on a shot by Counts, with coach
Butch van Breda Kolff refusing to reinsert Chamberlain into the game in the final minutes even though Wilt said his knee felt good enough to play. The Lakers lost the game, 108–106, and the series, 4–3.
Counts played one more season with the Lakers before being traded to the Phoenix Suns with the Lakers gaining the return of hall of famer
Gail Goodrich (he started with the Lakers but went to Phoenix in the 1967 expansion draft). After several more stops around the league, including a return to the Lakers in 1973, Counts ended his career with the New Orleans Jazz in 1976.
As of 2006, he was working as a real estate agent in Salem, Oregon. His son Brent played college basketball at the
University of the Pacific, his son Brian played at Western Oregon University and his son Chris played at Sheridan Junior College and South Dakota State. His grandsons Brent Jr. played at St. Martin's University, Patrick at Chemeketa Community College and California Maritime Academy, Kyle at St. Thomas - Minnesota, and Jack at Blanchet Catholic High School in Salem, Oregon, as an incoming 9th grader. Mixed martial artist
Chael Sonnen is his nephew.
Is Robert Whittaker a better version of Georges St-Pierre?
July 28, 2010.
Career statistics
NBA
Source
Regular season
Playoffs
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Counts, Mel
1941 births
Living people
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players
Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Oregon
Boston Celtics draft picks
Boston Celtics players
Centers (basketball)
Los Angeles Lakers players
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
New Orleans Jazz players
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Coos Bay, Oregon
Philadelphia 76ers players
Phoenix Suns players
Power forwards
United States men's national basketball team players