World B. Free (born Lloyd Bernard Free; December 9, 1953) is an American 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 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 1975 to 1988. Free was known as the "Prince of Mid-Air", "Brownsville Bomber", and most often as "All-World".

Early years and education

Free was born on December 9, 1953, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He grew up in the Brownsville neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, and attended Canarsie High School. He then attended Guilford College in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As a freshman, he led Guilford's basketball team and helped the team win the NAIA National Championship and was named MVP of the NAIA Tournament.

Professional career

Free played for the San Diego Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers,

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

and

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

in the

. He got his name from his days in

, where a friend nicknamed him "World" because of his 44-inch vertical leap and 360 degree dunks. Free was known for his " rainbow" jump shots, referring to the extreme arc of the ball during the shot. He was also known for taking high risk shots and playing flamboyantly. During Free's time playing for the San Diego Clippers, fans would shout "shoot, shoot, shoot" whenever Free took possession of the ball. Free averaged 20.3 points per game over 13 seasons in the NBA. Free began his career in the 1975–76 NBA season as a member of the 76ers, having been selected by the 76ers with the 23rd pick of the 1975 NBA draft. In the decisive game seven of the 1977 Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Sixers and 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), ...

, Free helped lead his team to victory with a game-high 27 points. The Sixers subsequently defeated the Rockets in the Eastern Conference Finals, but lost to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in the 1977 NBA Finals. Following the 1977–78 NBA season, Free was traded to the Clippers for a future pick in the 1984 NBA draft that was ultimately used to select Charles Barkley. For both the 1978–79 and 1979–80 campaigns, George Gervin and Free were number 1 and 2 in the league in scoring. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, Free led the Clippers to an improved 43–39 record, but they narrowly missed the playoffs. His best statistical season was 1979–80 with the Clippers, averaging 30.2 points per game, as well as 4.2 assists per game and 3.5 rebounds per game in 68 games. He was an All-Star that season as well, although the Clippers failed to make the playoffs again. On August 28, 1980, San Diego traded Free to Golden State for Phil Smith and a first-round pick. During the 1981-82 NBA season, Free would help the Warriors to a 45–37 record, leading the team in assists per game at 5.4 while also scoring 22.9 points per game (second on the team only to Bernard King’s 23.2 per game average). However, despite their above .500 record, they would miss the postseason. On December 15, 1983, in the middle of the 1982-83 season, he was traded to the

. The team finished 23-59, but the team was 3-19 prior to the Free trade. Notably in the fall of 1983, after the Cavaliers made a multi-year deal for him, management and Free came up with the stunt to have him picked up by helicopter at Burke Lakefront Airport to fly to the Richfield Coliseum to an actual carpet awaiting him for a press conference. During the season, Free became the 39th player in league history to surpass 15,000 career points. During that year, now on the Cavaliers, Free made the playoffs for the first time since he was on the 76ers, and averaged career-playoff-highs of 26.3 points and 7.8 assists per game, during a 3-1 first round loss to the Celtics. In that series, Free led the Cavaliers to a 105-98 Game 3 win with a postseason-career-high 32 points. He was allowed to depart the Cavaliers in free agency after 1986. In 275 games, he averaged 23 points and shot 45.4% from the field. Free later played in the United States Basketball League (USBL) for the Miami Tropics after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers in March 1987. He was named the USBL Playoffs MVP after leading the Tropics to the title after scoring 30 points in the championship winning game against the Rhode Island Gulls. Following the USBL season, he joined the

for the 1987–88 season, which was his last NBA season. For Free, the highlight of that season was November 12, 1987, when he scored 38 points against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

at ARCO Arena and brought the Rockets back to win the game. In 1991, Free had a comeback with Atlanta Eagles of the USBL, before retiring permanently.

Player profile

Free loved to go one-on-one against a defender and either whirl around him or take a jump shot. His shot was possibly his greatest strength: a soft, high-arcing lob that stayed in the air longer than the average jump shot and was so straight when he was "on" that it barely jostled the net. When he was younger, on the playgrounds of New York City, his jump shot was a flat line drive, but he was tired of having the ball blocked, so he developed a new style of shooting.

Personal life

Free admired

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

. In 1979, Free was dating Lady B and rapped freestyle with her during a trip to New York City, after which Lady B would become a highly influential radio DJ.

Name change

On December 8, 1981, a day before his 28th birthday, he legally changed his first name to World. According to Free, "the fellas back in Brownsville gave me the nickname 'World' when I was in junior high... they just started calling me 'all-world', because all-city and all-county and things like that weren't good enough. Finally they just started calling me World... I'm still the same guy I was when I was Lloyd, though. I'll say what I'm going to do, and then I'll go out and do it."

Post-playing career

Currently, Free is director of player development and a community ambassador for the Philadelphia 76ers. Among other things, he greets fans at 76ers home games in his flamboyant/colorful wardrobe. Free has also led the Sixers' "Summer Hoops Tour". On November 30, 2005, Free was honored as a Cleveland Cavaliers Legend at halftime of the Cavaliers game against the

Los Angeles 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 ...

. On March 26, 2022, Free was honored with a spot on the Cavaliers Wall of Honor along with former players

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, fi ...

and Campy Russell and former owner Gordon Gund. Dick Vitale often uses his name in college basketball season previews to give the award for best name.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 ...

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, 78 , , – , , 28.9 , , .457 , , – , , .720 , , 3.0 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , – , , 27.0 , , .455 , , – , , .731 , , 2.8 , , 4.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 15.7 , - , 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 ...

, 78 , , – , , 37.9 , , .481 , , – , , .756 , , 3.9 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 28.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , – , , 38.0 , , .474 , , .360 , , .753 , , 3.5 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 30.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 65 , , – , , 36.5 , , .446 , , .161 , , .814 , , 2.4 , , 5.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 24.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 78 , , 78 , , 35.8 , , .448 , , .179 , , .740 , , 3.2 , , 5.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 22.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 19 , , 18 , , 36.8 , , .451 , , .000 , , .711 , , 2.3 , , 4.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 22.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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, 75 , , 71 , , 31.7 , , .445 , , .319 , , .784 , , 2.9 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 22.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 50 , , 31.7 , , .459 , , .368 , , .749 , , 3.0 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 22.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 75 , , 33.8 , , .455 , , .420 , , .780 , , 2.9 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 23.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 2 , , 14.3 , , .317 , , .222 , , .766 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 58 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .409 , , .229 , , .800 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 886 , , 345 , , 30.4 , , .456 , , .337 , , .753 , , 2.7 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 20.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 1 , , 21.0 , , .538 , , –, , .000 , , 3.0 , , 5.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 14.0

Playoffs

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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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, 3, , –, , 20.7, , .393, , –, , .769, , 0.3, , 1.7, , 1.0, , 0.0, , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1977 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 15, , –, , 18.7, , .371, , –, , .688, , 2.1, , 1.9, , 0.8, , 0.5, , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 10, , –, , 26.8, , .411, , –, , .728, , 3.1, , 3.7, , 0.4, , 0.6, , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1985 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 4, , 4, , 37.5, , .441, , .000, , .920, , 2.5, , 7.8, , 1.5, , 0.0, , 26.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 2, , 0, , 6.0, , .000, , .000, , –, , 1.0, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 34 , , 4 , , 22.7 , , .398 , , .000 , , .740 , , 2.2 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 14.0

References

External links

World B. Free page at databaseBasketball.comCavshistory.com page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Free, World B. 1953 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Atlanta Canarsie High School alumni Cleveland Cavaliers players Golden State Warriors players Guilford Quakers men's basketball players Houston Rockets players NBA All-Stars People from Canarsie, Brooklyn Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards San Diego Clippers players Shooting guards Basketball players from Brooklyn United States Basketball League players