One of the most exciting developments in a basketball game is when someone gets extremely hot from the field. The player is locked in and has made multiple shots in a row. Regardless of what the defense tries to do, it seems like that player will find a way to get a basket at the moment. And this kind of player was Paul Arizin.
We’re used to seeing this play out currently with NBA stars like Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, and Stephen Curry. But this happened during the NBA’s early days as well, and there were few players who could score as well as Paul Arizin. He was one of the most gifted scorers in NBA history, averaging over 22 points per game for his career. Pitchin Paul, as he was known, made the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team last year as an ode to his remarkable legacy.
Paul Arizin – Growing Up
On April 9, 1928, Paul Joseph Arizin was born to parents Roger Arizin and Anna Gallen. As was common back in those days, Arizin spent his youth playing many different sports. He would play basketball but was also heavily involved in baseball and football too. At La Salle High School, Arizin would partake in all three sports, and only tried to pursue basketball seriously in his senior year. He would end up making the varsity squad, but end up not seeing the court very much. It was an uninspiring beginning to one of the most storied careers in early basketball history.
Where did Paul Arizin go to College?
Despite the lack of opportunity he received in high school, Paul Arizin did not give up on his passion for the game of basketball. He decided to remain local to continue his studies by enrolling at Villanova University. Because of his proximity to the school, Arizin actually commuted to campus every day while still living at home with his parents. That is certainly not something we see from major sports stars in today’s era.
Even while at Villanova, Arizin’s athletic talents were not immediately identified. He did not receive an athletic scholarship as a freshman but played basketball intramurally and through other recreational leagues in the city at night.
Men’s basketball head coach Al Severance caught a glimpse of Arizin’s play in these informal settings and liked what he saw. Severance offered Arizin a scholarship ahead of his sophomore year of college, and the rest was history.
While he was working his way towards an opportunity with the Wildcats, Arizin developed what we know today as the jump shot. At that time, very few players’ feet ever left the ground when they attempted a shot, but the Pennsylvania native practiced getting elevation on his shot before releasing it. His form was described as picture-perfect, and this weapon gave him a huge advantage over defenders.
In his first college season, Arizin averaged 11 points per game. While this was a respectable performance given the era of the sport, it was nothing compared to what he would accomplish as a junior and senior. He exploded onto the national scene, averaging 22 points a night in 1948-1949, and then over 25 points per game in 1949-1950. For his outstanding play in his final season of college, he was named the Sporting News College Player of The Year.
Paul Arizin – Philadelphia Warriors Career
Due to his lethal ability to put the ball in the basket, it was guaranteed that Arizin would be one of the first names on the board in the 1950 NBA Draft. However, the selection process worked a little bit different back then.
The league was brand new and more of a fledgling NBA than an established brand, they took measures to enhance the popularity of the sport. One of these mechanisms was to allow teams to essentially jump the line in order to select a player who was from/played their college basketball within 50 miles of the professional team’s home city. This was done to allow fans to root for players who they previously knew.
With that rule in mind, the Philadelphia Warriors selected Paul Arizin, who was already a star in the city. In his first professional season, he would go on to win NBA Rookie of The Year, nearly averaging a double-double en route to his first All-Star selection. He would actually elevate his game in his second season with the Warriors, averaging a league-leading 25.4 points per game, while playing a mind-blowing 44.5 minutes per contest.
As was common during that time for athletes and men in general, Arizin went to the United States marine corps to serve his country during the Korean War. He ended up missing two NBA seasons as a result.
The NBA layoff did not end up hurting Arizin’s game at all, as he essentially picked up right where he left off upon returning in 1954-1955. Despite his prodigious scoring numbers, Philadelphia was not a very good team, but that all changed when the franchise hired George Senesky to be its head coach.
Under new leadership, the Warriors defeated the Syracuse Nationals in the Eastern Conference Finals and Fort Wayne Pistons in the NBA Finals during the 1955-1956 season. The title would be the only one Arizin won in his ten-year career.
In 1959-1960, one of the league’s most potent scoring duos was formed, as the organization drafted Wilt Chamberlain. It is fairly common knowledge that Chamberlain’s scoring and rebounding numbers are unbelievable to review in this day and age, but Arizin’s productivity did not sharply decline despite the presence of such a high-usage player.
Arizin played for ten years in the NBA and had the distinction of being named to All-Star games every time. His final year would be 1961-1962, the year before the team was relocated to San Francisco.
Paul Arizin – Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame Induction
Paul Arizin was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977, a well-deserved honor for one of the most prolific scorers the game had seen to that point.
The Philadelphia product, along with many of the NBA’s earliest stars, deserves a lot of credit for putting the league on the map. In some ways, it is easier to build on something when there is a prototype already in existence. However, because there was no frame of reference or any history to draw upon for players like Arizin, they had to come up with a style and strategy of their own. It turned out that his method of playing the game would be something that would be borrowed by players for many decades to come.
Paul Arizin – Net Worth
Paul Arizin is an NBA star who has a net worth estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million. He was one of the greatest players of the early 1950s, having won two championships and 10 scoring titles during his 10-year career with the Philadelphia Warriors. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977.
