WILLIS REED - BASKETBALL SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: LOU "SWEET LOU" HUDSON, ROD "HOT ROD" HUNDLEY, ARTIS GILMORE, DAVE COWENS, GEORGE GERVIN, OTIS BIRDSONG, MAURICE LUCAS, AUSTIN CARR, M. L. CARR, CORNELIUS "CONNIE" HAWKINS, BOB "BUTTERBEAN" LOVE, DAN ROUNDFIELD, BOBBY JONES, GERALD HENDERSON - HFSID 277082

NBA LEGENDS
Eighteen court stars sign the side panels of a basketball.
Basketball signed: "Connie/Hawkins #42", "Hot Rod Hundley", "Bobby Jones", "George Gervin/Ice", "M L Carr", "Austin Carr", "Willis Reed", "Lou Hudson", "Bob Love", "Otis Birdsong", "Zelmo Beaty", "Gerald Henderson", "Maurice Lucas", "Artis Gilmore", "Dan Roundfield", "Dave Cowens"  and 2 unidentified signatures. Spalding Professional indoor/outdoor basketball, signed in all the side panels. In all 18 signatures. CONNIE HAWKINS played for the Harlem Globetrotters before becoming the American Basketball League's Most Valuable Player with the Pittsburgh Pipers in the ABL's first season (1967-1968). Innocent but unfairly tainted in a point shaving scandal at Iowa, which he attended as a freshman, Hawkins had to win a lawsuit to lift an NBA ban on his participation. Thereafter, he played 7 NBA seasons, four as an all-star. Renowned for his soaring dunks, Hawkins entered the Hall of Fame in 1992. RODNEY "HOT ROD" HUNDLEY played six seasons for the NBA Lakers (1957-1963), 3 each in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, before moving on to an announcing career. Only the fourth NCAA player to score over 2,000 points, Hundley was a 2-time all-star in the NBA. BOBBY JONES joined the ABA Denver Nuggets in 1974, staying with the team when it moved to the NBA. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1978. Jones was a 5-time All-Star and led each league in field goal percentage. Noted for his outstanding defense and team play, Jones made a point of pointing to the teammate whose pass to him had resulted in a goal. Although he never won a championship, every team for which Jones played in his 12-year pro career made the playoffs! This Bobby Jones should not be confused with the current player, who has also been a 76er and a Nugget. GEORGE GERVIN, called "the Iceman" or simply "Ice" for his cool demeanor on the court, began his pro career with the Virginia Squires in 1972, moved to the San Antonio Spurs in 1974, continued with that team when it entered the NBA, and played one final season with the Chicago Bulls (1985-1986). The Hall of Famer was named one of the 30 all-time ABA greats, and to the list of 50 greatest NBA players. The shooting guard averaged 26.2 points per game in his NBA career. M.L. CARR was MVP of the European Pro Basketball League before signing with the ABA's Spirits of St Louis in 1975. Moving to the NBA, he played for the Detroit Pistons (1976-1979) and Boston Celtics (1979-1985), playing on the championship teams of 1981 and 1984. In the nasty Game Four of the 1984 NBA Finals against Los Angeles, virtually a tag team wrestling match, Carr's steal and slam dunk clinched the Celtics overtime win on their way to a 4-3 series triumph. AUSTIN CARR scored 2,560 points for Notre Dame before joining the NBA for 10 seasons (1971-1981). His best years came with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made the playoffs three straight years with him at guard and who retired his jersey. Carr now directs Community Relations and does color commentary for the Cavs. Center WILLIS REED led the NY Knicks to NBA titles in 1970 and 1973. He was a finals MVP both years and a regular season MVP in 1970. Reed was voted one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982. A college star at Minnesota, LOU HUDSON (1944-2014) signed with the NBA's St Louis Hawks, remaining with the team when it moved to Atlanta. In 13 NBA seasons (1966-1979), Hudson scored 17,940 points and made 6 all-star teams. He was known for his smooth jump shot. BOB LOVE's (1942-2024) story should be made into a movie. Drafted by the NBA Cincinnati Royals in 1965, he failed to make the team, becoming instead the Rookie of the Year in the Eastern Basketball League. That performance earned him a spot on the Royals' roster, and he moved to the Chicago Bulls in the 1968 expansion draft. Everyone knows that Michael Jordan is the Bulls' all-time leading scorer. How many people outside Chicago know that Bob "Butterbean" Love ranks number two (12,623 points)? After a severe back injury forced his retirement in 1977, Love's prospects plummeted. Crippled, and with a severe stutter, Love lost his wife. At one point he was busing tables and washing dishes at $4.45 per hour. After surgery and speech therapy, Love made a heartwarming comeback as Director of Community Relations for the Bulls. The formerly speech impaired Love is also a motivational speaker. An All-American at the University of Houston, OTIS BIRDSONG was a 4-time All-Star in 12 NBA seasons with the Kings, Nets and Celtics. An All-Star in two of his seven seasons with the St Louis Hawks (1966, 1968), ZELMO BEATY moved to the ABA, where he helped lead the Utah Stars to a championship in 1971. He later returned to the NBA to play for the Lakers. Four-time All-Star GERALD HENDERSON played for 7 NBA teams over 13 seasons (1979-1992). He was part of the Boston Celtics championship teams of 1981 and 1984, making a well-remembered steal and lay-up to tie Game Two of the 1984 series against the Lakers, eventually won by the Celts. He was an NBA champion again with the Detroit Pistons in 1990. Power forward MAURICE LUCAS, known as "the Enforcer," spent his first two pro seasons in the ABA with the Spirit of St Louis and the Kentucky Colonels. Joining the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, he helped his new team win the 1977 NBA Championship. Lucas, who made each league's All-Star team four times, played in the NBA until 1988, beginning and ending with the Trail Blazers. Muscular center ARTIS GILMORE played with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association for five years, beginning in 1971, moving to the NBA in 1976 for 12 more seasons, playing mostly with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. An 11-time All-Star in the two leagues, Gilmore can boast the highest ever career field goal percentage in the NBA (.599). The soft spoken Gilmore, who rarely yelled at officials or opponents, was criticized by some Chicago fans as insufficiently aggressive on the court, but his clutch performances refuted that notion. DAN ROUNDFIELD joined the Indiana Pacers in 1975, the team's last season in the ABA, and then moved with the franchise to the NBA. A three-time NBA All-Star (1980-1982) known for his stout defense and rebounding skills, Roundfield also played for Atlanta, Detroit and Washington. He reached the playoffs with all four of his teams. Center DAVE COWENS starred for the Boston Celtics from 1970 to 1980, making the NBA All-Star season in seven consecutive seasons (1972-1978). The League's MVP in 1973, he was coaxed out of retirement for one season in Milwaukee (1982-1983). A key member of the NBA Championship Celtics teams of 1974 and 1976, he was a bridge between the 60's Celtics of Bill Russell and the 80's Celtics of Larry Bird. Fine condition.