Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former 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. He played primarily in 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 ...

(ABA) and

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), and is the only player to have led both the NBA and ABA in rebounding. Nater was a two-time ABA All-Star and was the 1974 ABA Rookie of the Year. He played

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for the

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, winning two

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(NCAA) titles.

Early life

Nater was born in the Netherlands in Den Helder. His parents divorced when he was three years old. When his mother remarried and the family's economic situation deteriorated, she, her husband, and Nater's younger brother moved to the United States, leaving Nater and his sister in an orphanage. After three years it appeared they would remain in the Netherlands until a television show, '' It Could Be You'' (a forerunner to '' This Is Your Life''), discovered the situation and brought the two siblings to America to be reunited—on TV—with the rest of the family. At age nine, he was in a new country and did not speak a word of English. He took his stepfather's name and was known as Swen Langeberg. Nater did not get along with his stepfather, who did not want him to play basketball. Nater graduated from Long Beach Wilson High School in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. He tried out for their basketball team as a junior, but he was cut. He had arrived at the first practice barefoot but was told by the coach he needed shoes. His family unable to afford them, Nater returned to practice with shoes stolen from a teammate. The coach told Nater to leave. He did not try out as a senior.

College career

Nater attended and played basketball at Cypress College, a junior college in Cypress, California (where he met his wife, Marlene). Under Chargers head coach

Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

, he played little as a freshman, but was a Community College All-American as a sophomore. He earned a scholarship 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 ...

. After leaving Cypress, he changed back to his father's name, Nater. He had already moved out from his stepfather's home after he forbade Nater from playing at Cypress. Nater

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first year with the

. He helped

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

's squads win two NCAA titles. He was a backup to Bill Walton, and averaged just 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a senior. He never started a collegiate game—his primary role was helping to develop Walton in practice.

Professional career

Nater was drafted by

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in the 1972 ABA Draft, and then by the Virginia Squires in the June 1972 ABA dispersal draft after the Floridians' demise. Nater was also drafted in the first round of the 1973 NBA draft with the 16th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks; he was the first NBA first-round pick to have played in the NCAA without ever starting a college game. Milwaukee offered him $50,000. In August 1973, he opted to sign a three-year, $300,000 contract with the Squires, who spread the payments over seven years. On November 21, 1973, the Squires traded Nater to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

for a draft pick and $300,000. With the Spurs, Nater was the ABA Rookie of the Year after averaging 14.1 points and 12.6 rebounds for the season. He led the ABA in field goal percentage in 1974 and led the league in rebounding in 1975. He was named to the All-ABA Second Team in 1974 and 1975 and participated in the ABA All-Star Game both seasons. During his three seasons in the ABA, Nater played for the Spurs, Squires, and the

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. Nater's NBA career began with the Milwaukee Bucks. During the 1976-77 NBA season, Nater amassed three games where he had at least 20 rebounds and 20 points, including a 30-point and 33 rebound performance in a 126–109 win over 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 ...

on December 19, 1976. After the season ended, Milwaukee traded Nater to the Buffalo Braves for Buffalo's first round draft pick, which Milwaukee used to select Marques Johnson. When the Braves moved to

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and became the Clippers a year later, Nater became a local favorite. Nater led the NBA in rebounding average during the 1979–80 season, making him the only player ever to lead both the NBA and ABA in rebounding. On January 12, 1982, he had surgery to remove bone chips from his right knee. The injury limited him to just 14 games in 1981–82 and seven in 1982–83. Before the 1983–84 season, Nater was traded by the Clippers along with a just-drafted Byron Scott to the Los Angeles Lakers for Norm Nixon, Eddie Jordan, and a 1986 second-round draft pick (which would eventually be dealt to the Phoenix Suns and become Jeff Hornacek). The Lakers acquired him to backup Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Nater and Scott helped lead the Lakers to the NBA Finals that year, but the next season the team did not offer him a guaranteed contract. Nater played for Australian Udine in the Italian League, where he was the best paid player and led the league in rebounding even though the team ended up being relegated. The next season, he initially accepted an offer from Barcelona in the Spanish League, but ultimately he changed his mind and decided to retire.

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1973–74 (ABA) , align="left" ,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 17 , , - , , 22.0 , , style="background:#cfecec;, .556* , , .000 , , .630 , , 9.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.9 , , 12.6 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 (ABA) , align="left" ,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 62 , , - , , 32.3 , , style="background:#cfecec;, .551* , , .000 , , .740 , , 13.6 , , 1.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 (ABA) , align="left" ,

, 78 , , - , , 34.8 , , .542 , , .000 , , .752 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 16.4* , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 (ABA) , align="left" , New York , 43 , , - , , 23.6 , , .485 , , .000 , , .718 , , 10.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 (ABA) , align="left" ,

, 33 , , - , , 23.5 , , .498 , , .000 , , .675 , , 9.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , 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 ...

, 72 , , - , , 27.2 , , .528 , , - , , .754 , , 12.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" , Buffalo , 78 , , - , , 35.6 , , .504 , , - , , .765 , , 13.2 , , 2.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 15.5 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 79 , , - , , 25.4 , , .569 , , - , , .800 , , 8.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 35.3 , , .554 , , .000 , , .718 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 15.0* , , 2.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , - , , 34.3 , , .553 , , .000 , , .795 , , 12.4 , , 2.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 15.6 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 21 , , 7 , , 27.4 , , .577 , , 1.000 , , .747 , , 9.1 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 7 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .300 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 69 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .490 , , .000 , , .692 , , 3.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 722 , , 7 , , 28.7 , , .535 , , .100 , , .748 , , 11.6, , 1.7, , 0.5, , 0.6 , , 12.4

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1973–74 (ABA) , align="left" ,

, 7 , , - , , 30.1 , , .553 , , .000 , , .714 , , 11.7 , , 2.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 14.9 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 (ABA) , align="left" ,

, 6 , , - , , 39.0 , , .476 , , .000 , , .429 , , 16.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 14.8 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 17 , , - , , 8.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , .769 , , 2.4 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , - , , 19.7 , , .512 , , .000, , .639 , , 7.4, , 0.7, , 0.2, , 0.4 , , 8.4

After the NBA

He built the basketball program at Christian Heritage College in

San Diego, California 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 ...

, and coached the team from 1985 to 1995. He left the position because it "was high on work and low on pay.” He was living in

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish language, Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajon, Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the ...

, where his two daughters were born and raised. Nater later lived in Enumclaw, Washington,What a long, strange trip it's been, Swen
Espn.co.uk, Retrieved 2018-12-11. where he went to work for Costco, for whom he was a sporting goods assistant buyer. and then in Des Moines, Washington overlooking

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

, with his wife Dr. Wendy Ghiora. Nater has also co-authored books with basketball coaches Wooden and Pete Newell.

Publications

* *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nater, Swen 1950 births Living people ABA All-Stars Basketball players from King County, Washington Buffalo Braves players Cypress Chargers men's basketball players Dutch expatriate basketball people in the United States Lega Basket Serie A players Los Angeles Lakers players Miami Floridians draft picks Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players NBA players from the Netherlands New York Nets players Pallalcesto Amatori Udine players Sportspeople from Den Helder People from Des Moines, Washington People from Enumclaw, Washington Power forwards San Antonio Spurs players San Diego Clippers players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Virginia Squires draft picks Virginia Squires players Wilson Classical High School alumni