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Oklahoma City Thunder: 25 Best Players To Play For The Thunder

By Phil Watson

May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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INGLEWOOD, CA - 1970: Spencer Haywood #24 of the Seattle Supersonics goes up to rebound tip in against the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA game circa 1970 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 1970 NBAE (Photo by Wen Roberts/ NBAE via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Spencer Haywood
INGLEWOOD, CA – 1970: Spencer Haywood #24 of the Seattle Supersonics goes up to rebound tip in against the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA game circa 1970 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 1970 NBAE (Photo by Wen Roberts/ NBAE via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Spencer Haywood /

Signed from Denver Rockets (ABA), Dec. 30, 1970.. PF. 1971-75. Spencer Haywood. 8. player. 149

Spencer Haywood was the test case for every early-entry player that would follow, the first player to challenge the NBA’s rule that a player could not be drafted until his high-school class was four years out of school.

He signed with the ABA’s Denver Rockets after single seasons at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado and the University of Detroit and the 20-year-old took the new league by storm, earning MVP and Rookie of the Year honors.

OKC_08_HAYWOOD
OKC_08_HAYWOOD /

Haywood bolted the Rockets in 1970 and

challenged the NBA in court

for the right to play in the league, finding an ally in Seattle SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman, who signed him in December 1970 and then filed an antitrust suit against the league.

A court issued an injunction allowing Haywood to play and the Sonics’ signing was ruled valid by the U.S. Supreme Court in March 1971.

That didn’t stop the Buffalo Braves from choosing Haywood in the second round of the 1971 NBA Draft, but Haywood was securely in Seattle.

He was a four-time All-Star with the Sonics and was also a four-time All-NBA selection, finishing fifth in the MVP voting in 1971-72.

Haywood was third in the league in minutes per game in 1971-72 and fifth in 1972-73 and finished third in scoring in 1972-73 and fourth in 1971-72.

In October 1975, Haywood was traded to the New York Knicks for Gene Short and a first-round pick in 1979.

In five seasons with Seattle, Haywood averaged 24.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 blocks in 40.4 minutes per game, shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 81.3 percent from the foul line.

But he never reached that level of play again. He was traded to the New Orleans Jazz in January 1979 and dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in September of the same year.

Haywood earned a ring with the Lakers in 1980 even after he was sent home after Game 1 of the Finals while battling cocaine addiction.

He spent the 1980-81 season in Italy before returning to the NBA as a free agent with the Washington Bullets in 1980-81.

Waived in March 1983, Haywood retired.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Next: Jesus Shuttlesworth Was Seattle’s Last Star

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