Often overlooked and ignored when talking about the greatest players of all time, Spencer Haywood sure wrote his name in NBA history and paved the way for many more to come in basketball’s early stages.
A well-deserved member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and one of the prime scorers of his generation, we’re here to honor a guy so influential that even forced the league to change a rule, although it all came with plenty of controversies.
Buckle up, as we walk you through the impressive career of Spencer Haywood, star of the Denver Rockets, Seattle Supersonics, New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, and Washington Bullets.
Spencer Haywood – A Teen at Mexico Olympic games
Haywood’s prime came very early in his career. After averaging 28.2 points and 22.1 rebounds per game in college at Trinidad State Junior College, he was invited to try out for the 1968 USA Olympic team. At 19 years old. A total of 88 players were hoping to make the squad. Haywood joined names like Pete Maravich and Calvin Murphy, but they didn’t make it. However, the college basketball boy was, as head coach Hank Iba was so impressed with the athleticism and his dunks that he was willing to take the risk.
Iba was rewarded for this step. Haywood was already playing like an old hand at the Mexico City tournament, dominating the boards with his athleticism and beating defenders with his finesse.
At the time, he was one of the few power forwards who also had an outside game and could always create their own shot with their back and face to the basket. The signature move: dribbling with a spin move and fade away, which he managed to keep in the pot over and over again, was making defenses crazy.
By the end of the tournament, Haywood not only had the Olympic gold medal around his neck but also had record-breaking numbers: 16.1 points per game with a field shooting rate of 71.9 percent.
Spencer Haywood – Stats like Wilt
The following collegiate season, his line on the Detroit Mercy stats sheet looked no different—then he moved to the ABA(American Basketball Association), desperate for a star and figurehead in the shadow of the NBA. He chose the Denver Rockets, who later became the Nuggets.
In his rookie season, he shattered all the franchise records that still stand today: 30.0 points per game, 49.3 percent from the field, and 19.5 rebounds. Similar numbers were produced only by Wilt Chamberlain at that time. The logical result: Haywood was simultaneously named Rookie of the Year, MVP of the Season, and MVP of the All-Star Games. More is not possible.
The problem was that hardly anyone noticed his stats. The ABA was new. The ABA relied on the show instead of quality. The ABA played with a white and blue ball. And above all, the ABA was not broadcast on national TV. Still, the Rockets could afford to offer their new star a six-year, $1.9 million deal – an astronomical sum at the time. But that contract was never signed.
Haywood found that the franchise was trying to rip him off. A clause hidden in the fine print would only have netted him $400,000. The rest was for mysterious assets that the player would only have been able to access from the age of 50. If any. With the help of a lawyer, he was able to cancel the contract and signed with the Seattle Supersonics from the NBA, the “right” league.
Spencer Haywood vs. the NBA
However, there was a not inconsiderable obstacle to overcome. At the time, the NBA rules forbade signing players who had not completed the entire four years of college. So Haywood shouldn’t have played at all, but he and the franchise took action against it: they sued the association. A courageous and lengthy decision that caused a stir: The NCAA and the NBA were very tough on players. They feared that their entire system would collapse and that a decision in Haywood’s favor would trigger a chain reaction.
But the Supersonics remained stubborn and brought the league to its knees. They had pointed out his financial distress and that he was the only one who could support his family. He had ten siblings in all, his father had long since passed away, and his mother worked for a few dollars a day.
This argument convinced the jury – and from that day, athletes in similar situations were allowed to go to the NBA. Regardless of their level of education.
The reached decision paved the way for future generations of players to drop out of college for the NBA or jump straight out of high school. Seattle went all the way to the Supreme Court to fight Haywood vs. the NBA. That result opened the way for all these Jordans, Magics, and the Birds to get into the league. And that list goes all the way to Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. In today’s game, this situation is called the “Spencer Haywood rule.”
Spencer Haywood – An “Illegal” on the court
At the time, however, the verdict triggered a wave of anger. The Supersonics were accused of stealing a competitive advantage, and the wrath of opposing fans was directed at the deserter. Before tip-off for away games, the hall announcer called into his microphone: Ladies and gentlemen, we have an illegal on the field here, so the game cannot start until he is escorted out! Then some of the spectators booed or threw things at players until Haywood left the field.
However, the “illegal” was unstoppable and put up 20.6 points and 12 rebounds in the 33 games that remained to him after the negotiations. However, the team was not successful that season.
Haywood improved his efficiency and led Seattle to the playoffs for the first time in 1975. He started to play for the team first time in his career. His coach back then was none other than Bill Russell.
The relationship between the two was not always easy, which Haywood regretted later. Haywood’s 13.4 rebounds per game from the ’73/74 season is still the franchise record. His 29.2 points from the previous year could only be topped by Kevin Durant.
Spencer Haywood – Traded To The Knicks
After the playoff season, Haywood was surprisingly traded to the New York Knicks, the association’s most glamorous franchise at the time. That wasn’t right for him: He felt betrayed by Seattle. After everything he had gone through there, they just traded him, which hurt a lot.
His new situation in the Big Apple was not easy. With Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, and Jerry Lucas, three franchise players retired, and Haywood inherited them. That endeavor was doomed to failure, especially after he answered ‘yes’ at a press conference when asked if he would be the ‘savior.’ Every bad performance was blamed on him, and he repeatedly had to endure comparisons with all three ex-stars.
His performance on the court suffered. As a result, he could never build on his glory days in Seattle. Instead, he took refuge in the star life of the New York scene, married the supermodel Iman Abdulmajid and immersed himself in the city’s celebrity world.
Spencer Haywood – The Apparent Dead
The Knicks didn’t want to look at it any longer and sent him to the New Orleans Jazz, who soon passed him directly to the Los Angeles Lakers. His NBA career came to an inglorious end there. During training, he suddenly fell asleep while stretching. His teammates tried to wake him up, already thinking he was dead.
He wasn’t dead, but he was on drugs. Haywood was addicted to cocaine. Of course, he was immediately suspended – and after this incident of all things, the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship. The ring was initially denied to him and only presented after a few years and much discussion.
Haywood picked himself up “after an eye-opening conversation” with his mother. He went abroad, where he caught up with Reyer Venezia in Italy and got a new chance in the association. In Italy, he played with the most prominent European star at that time: Drazen Dalipagic.
The next season he returned to the NBA and consistently performed with the Washington Bullets (17.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first season). He continued his recovery. He’s now been clean for over three decades.
Spencer Haywood – Net Worth
Spencer Haywood is an NBA star who has a net worth of $5 million. He is a 4-time NBA All-Star and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Over the course of his career, Haywood earned more than $16 million in salary, helping him to accumulate his impressive net worth.
Is Spencer Haywood a Hall of Famer?
Haywood is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member inducted in 2015. In his introduction, he said that basketball fans can finally remember him because of his game and not other things outside of the court.
Haywood’s no. 24 jersey was retired by the Seattle during a game ceremony in February 2007.
Is Spencer Haywood married?
He was married to fashion icon Iman from 1977 until 1987, and they had a daughter, Zulekha Haywood. He remarried in 1990 with Linda and the couple has three daughters. Haywood currently lives in Las Vegas with his family.
