Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed "'Pitchin Paul", was an American

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 spent his entire

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) career with the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...

from

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. He was a high-scoring forward at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA.

Early life

Paul Joseph Arizin was born on April 9, 1928, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, to French immigrants. Arizin did not play basketball at La Salle College High School, failing to make the team in his only tryout as a senior. Arizin graduated just a year before another Basketball Hall of Famer, Tom Gola, entered La Salle College High School as a freshman.

College career

During his freshman year at Villanova, Arizin played CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) basketball in Philadelphia. Late in that season, Al Severance, then the Villanova varsity basketball coach, attended one of Arizin's CYO games. Afterwards, Severance approached Arizin and asked him if he would like to go to Villanova, to which Arizin answered: "I already go to Villanova." Arizin made the team in 1947, his sophomore year, and played for three years. In 1950 he was named the collegiate basketball player of the year after leading the nation with 25.3 points per game. During a game on , Arizin scored 85 points against the Naval Air Materials Center roster. Arizin also scored at least 100 points in a game while playing for Villanova, but the game is not recognized by the NCAA because the opponent was a junior college.

Professional career

Philadelphia Warriors (1950–1962)

After being selected by the Warriors with their first pick in the 1950 NBA draft, Arizin averaged 17.2 points per game in his rookie season and was named

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb T ...

— a designation not currently sanctioned by the NBA for the 1950–51 season. He became one of the greatest NBA players of the 1950s, leading the league in scoring during the 1951–52 and 1956–57 seasons and leading in field goal percentage in 1951–52. Arizin sat out the 1952–53 and 1953–54 NBA seasons while serving in the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. On March 20, 1954, he appeared in a game for the Berwick Carbuilders of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) and scored 32 points. Arizin became famous for his line-drive jump shots, and teamed with center Neil Johnston to form the best offensive one-two punch in the NBA at the time, leading the Warriors to the 1956 NBA title. He also played with scoring star

Joe Fulks Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player. The NBA's first scoring champion, he was sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously en ...

early in his career, and with Philadelphia legends Tom Gola and

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

toward the end of his career in the early 1960s. Arizin chose to retire from the NBA rather than move with the Warriors to San Francisco. At the time of his retirement, no player had retired from the game with a higher scoring average (21.9 points per game) in his final season. This record would stand until

Bob Pettit Robert E. Lee Pettit Jr. ( ; born December 12, 1932) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association, NBA, all with the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In ...

's retirement in 1965 following a season in which he averaged 22.5 PPG. Arizin played in a total of 10 NBA All-Star Games (he was the

1952 NBA All-Star Game The 1952 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on February 11, 1952, at Boston Garden in Boston, home of the Boston Celtics. The game was the second edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was p ...

MVP) and was named to the All-NBA First-Team in 1952, 1956, and 1957.

Camden Bullets (1962–1965)

After retiring from the NBA, Arizin played for three seasons with the Camden Bullets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), who won the 1964 title. Averaging over 20 points per game each season, he was named the EPBL MVP in 1963, was named to the EPBL All-Star First Team in 1963 and 1964 and to the EPBL All-Star Second Team in 1965.

Legacy

Arizin was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971. He was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 1978, and was selected to the

50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

in 1996. In October 2021, Arizin was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Arizin died in his sleep at age 78 on December 12, 2006, in Springfield,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

.NBA Hall of Famer Arizin dies at 78
/ref>

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Basketball Hall of Fame profileExtensive audio interview on Paul Arizin with his son Michael; from 6:50 mark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizin, Paul 1928 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century United States Marines All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of French descent Basketball players from Philadelphia Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Philadelphia Warriors players Shooting guards Small forwards Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War