Edward J. "Mickey" Davis (born June 16, 1950) is an American former basketball player 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). 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

Duquesne Dukes The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Dukes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Football and bowling, however ...

, leading his team in

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game and points per game. He left after his junior season to start his professional career with the

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

of the

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 ...

. He was later selected by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the seventh round of the 1972 NBA draft and played with the team until 1976. Davis' professional career was mostly unheralded, but he did garner some national attention during the

1974 NBA Finals The 1974 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1973–74 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks 4 games t ...

with the Bucks. With starting guard Lucius Allen hurt and the rest of the Bucks' guards unable to handle the defensive pressure of 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), ...

, Davis, an adept ballhandler, was called upon to play

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

(unusual at the time at 6'7") alongside

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

for much of the series and helped the Bucks extend the Celtics to seven games. On January 6 of that season, in perhaps his best regular season game, Davis scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and recorded 4 assists in a loss against the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

while starting in place of injured all-star teammate

Bob Dandridge Robert L. Dandridge Jr. (born November 15, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Greyhound", Dandridge was a four-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion, who scored 15,530 points in his career. He was ele ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, 23 , , - , , 5.5 , , .397 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.8 , , 0.4 , , - , , - , , 2.8 , - , align="left" ,

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

, align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 74 , , - , , 14.1 , , .438 , , - , , .826 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , - , , - , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 73 , , - , , 13.9 , , .504 , , - , , .830 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

, 75 , , - , , 14.4 , , .479 , , - , , .886 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 45 , , - , , 9.1 , , .362 , , - , , .794 , , 1.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 19 , , - , , 8.7 , , .426 , , - , , .920 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 309 , , - , , 12.4 , , .455 , , .000 , , .835 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , - , , 9.0 , , .353 , , - , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , - , , - , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 15 , , - , , 16.3 , , .492 , , - , , .917 , , 2.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , - , , 14.2 , , .463 , , - , , .923 , , 2.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 4.8

Personal life and post-basketball career

He is the brother of former NBA player Brad Davis. After his playing days, he worked as a regional sales manager for the Miller Brewing Company. He was elected to the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. He has four grown children, and, as of 2021, lives in Florida with his wife, Linda.Mike White, "Legacy series: Monaca's Mickey Davis played for an NBA title 47 years ago — alongside Kareem and Oscar". ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', July 14, 2021. Available online: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-basketball/2021/07/14/Legacy-series-Mickey-Davis-Monaca-WPIAL-basketball-NBA-Milwaukee-Bucks-NBA-Finals-Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar-Duquesne/stories/202107140020 . Retrieved July 26, 2021.

References

1950 births Living people American men's basketball players Denver Rockets draft picks Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players People from Rochester, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Condors players Basketball players from Beaver County, Pennsylvania {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub