Nick Levoter Weatherspoon (July 20, 1950 – October 17, 2008) 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.

Career

Weatherspoon, nicknamed "Spoon", scored 1,431 points at

Canton McKinley High School McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus (mostly known as Early College High School or Timken H ...

, holding the Bulldog scoring record for 37 years until Raymar Morgan broke it during the 2005–06 season. He was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

before being selected by the

Capital Bullets Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

with the 13th pick of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

. Named to the 1974

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

, Weatherspoon spent a total of seven seasons in the NBA with the Bullets, 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 ...

, the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, and the

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. Weatherspoon was elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004. He was a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity, and was initiated in the Fraternity through Tau chapter in 1971.

Honors

Basketball

* 1972 – Team MVPFightingIllini.com
/ref> * 1972 – Honorable Mention All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

* 1973 – Team Captain * 1973 – Team MVP * 1973 – 1st Team All-Big Ten * 1973 – Honorable Mention All American * 2004 – Elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team". * 2008 – Honored as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the

State Farm Center The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...

to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, 65 , , , , 18.7 , , .412 , , , , .691 , , 6.1 , , .6 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 82 , , , , 16.4 , , .456 , , , , .746 , , 4.2 , , .6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , , , 16.9 , , .476 , , , , .701 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , .7 , , .3 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , , , 13.8 , , .355 , , , , .625 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , .3 , , .5 , , 5.4 , - , 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 ...

, 51 , , , , 29.5 , , .461 , , , , .632 , , 7.9 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 41 , , , , 14.9 , , .443 , , , , .881 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 82 , , , , 32.2 , , .480 , , , , .739 , , 5.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , , , 19.7 , , .434 , , , , .692 , , 3.6 , , .9 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 453 , , , , 21.4 , , .455 , , , , .713 , , 4.9 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.0

Playoffs

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1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

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, 7 , , , , 12.4 , , .474 , , , , .400 , , 3.9 , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.9 , - , 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. ...

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, 17 , , , , 23.8 , , .515 , , , , .814 , , 4.8 , , .9 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

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, 7 , , , , 32.0 , , .450 , , , , .560 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .6 , , 12.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 31 , , , , 23.1 , , .489 , , , , .699 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 9.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1970–71 , style="text-align:left;",

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, 23 , , , , , , .452 , , , , .718 , , 10.7 , , , , , , , , 16.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1971–72 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 24 , , , , .419 , , , , .746 , , 11.0 , , , , , , , , 20.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1972–73 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 23 , , 36.7 , , .457 , , , , .711 , , 12.3 , , , , , , , , 25.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 71 , , 47 , , 36.7 , , .443 , , , , .725 , , 11.4 , , , , , , , , 20.9

References

External links

College stats
at Sports-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherspoon, Nick 1950 births 2008 deaths 20th-century African-American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Canton, Ohio Basketball players from Mississippi Capital Bullets draft picks Capital Bullets players Carolina Cougars draft picks Chicago Bulls players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) San Diego Clippers players Seattle SuperSonics players Small forwards Sportspeople from Greenwood, Mississippi Washington Bullets players