SPENCER HAYWOOD - Transformative sports figure

Spencer Haywood is a former professional basketball player and Olympic Gold Medalist.

Haywood became a transformative figure in sports history when he legally challenged the NBA's "four-year rule" which was a requirement that a player could not be drafted by an NBA team until four years after graduating from high school. This resulted in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case Haywood vs. National Basketball Association and the decision to open the league to younger players under the hardship rule.

Over a 14-year professional career, he earned a multitude honors.

LEGACY

• NBA Champion ('80)
• ABA Most Valuable Player ('70)
• 4X NBA All-Star ('72-'75)
• ABA All-Star ('70)
• ABA All-Star Game MVP ('70)
• 2x All-NBA First Team ('72, '73)
• All-ABA First Team ('70)
• 2x All-NBA Second Team ('74, '75)
• ABA Rookie of the Year ('70)
• ABA All-Rookie First Team ('70)
• ABA Scoring Champion ('70)
• ABA Rebounding Leader ('70)
• ABA All-Time Team
• #24 retired by Seattle SuperSonics
• Consensus first-team All-American ('69)
• #45 retired Detroit Mercy Titans
• NCAA rebounding leader ('69)
• Mr. Basketball USA ('67)
• Gold Medalist at Olympic Games ('68)
• Enshrined into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ('15)