Nate “Tiny” Archibald Turns 77
- Jake C
- Sep 2
- 6 min read
Cover photo: Nate Archibald against the Portland Trail Blazers in 1973. Photo credit: Getty Images.
An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on September 2 as Hall of Fame point guard Nate “Tiny” Archibald turns 77.
A 6-time all-star and the first and only player to lead the NBA in scoring and assists in the same season (1973), Archibald was born in the South Bronx.
As a sophomore at Dewitt-Clinton High School, Archibald did not make the varsity team. He did however make the squad as a junior and was All-City as a senior.
Archibald attended Arizona Western Community College for one year before transferring to the University of Texas-El Paso, where he enjoyed a successful three years. Archibald averaged 15.8 points per game in his first season as a Miner and as a junior averaged 22.4 points per game and 21.4 points per game in his senior season. He shot 53.2% from the field in his junior season and 51.3% in his senior campaign. Overall in 73 college games, Archibald averaged 20.0 points per game on 50.7% shooting (13.8 attempts).
The 1970 NBA Draft, of which Archibald was drafted 19th overall, flies under the radar in modern NBA discussion. But a draft that included Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Dave Cowens, Calvin Murphy, Dan Issel, Charlie Scott, Rudy Tomjanovic, and Archibald is one of the deepest and most talented that there has been. Randy Smith, Geoff Petrie, John Johnson, and Sam Lacey complete the twelve all-stars from that draft.
The Cincinnati Royals, coached by Bob Cousy, drafted Archibald, after the departure of Oscar Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks. The 1969-70 season was also Hall of Fame forward Jerry Lucas’ last with the Royals.
Archibald played in 82 games as a rookie in ‘70-‘71, as he would also do in the ‘74-‘75 season. In his first season, the guard played 35.0 minutes per game and averaged an even 16.0 points (44.4%, 13.4 attempts) and 5.5 assists.
Tiny’s numbers catapulted in his second season, as he played in 76 games but saw his minutes increase to 43.1 per game. In those minutes, he registered 28.2 points (48.6%, 19.9 attempts) and 9.2 assists. He also led the NBA in free-throws made and attempted per game (8.9, 10.8), a feat he would also accomplish in his historic third season. He made the 1972 All-NBA 2nd team.
Following ‘71-‘72, the Royals moved to Kansas City and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, playing their home games at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. Although the Kings won 36 games, Archibald, 24 years old, put together one of the best seasons in league history.
Tiny Archibald’s 1972-73 Season
34.0 points (48.8% FG), 11.4 assists, 84.7% FT, 46.0 minutes, 80 games. Led the NBA in points, assists, field-goal attempts (26.3), free-throws made (8.3), free-throws attempted (9.8), and minutes per game (46.0). Archibald made 1st team All-NBA.
He was the first player to lead the NBA in points and assists in the same season. No player has led in both scoring and assists in the same season since. In 2016-17, James Harden, then of the Houston Rockets, came closest to accomplishing the feat when his 11.2 assists per game led the league and his 29.1 points per game was the second best average in the league to Russell Westbrook’s 31.6 points per game.
Archibald played just 35 games in ‘73-‘74 due to an Achilles injury and averaged 17.6 points and 7.6 assists. He would return to all-star form in the next two seasons.
Tiny Archibald’s Last All-Star Seasons as a King
1974-75: 26.5 points, 45.6% FG (20.3 FGA), 6.8 assists, 87.2% FT, 8.0 FTM (1st), 9.1 FTA, 39.6 minutes, 82 games, 6th in MVP voting, 1st team All-NBA
The Kings won 44 games, now playing their home games at Kemper Arena. The team lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals. Archibald tied the Bulls’ Bob Love with a game-high 26 points in Game 6. For the series, the 26-year-old averaged 20.2 points and 5.3 assists per game.
1975-76: 24.8 points, 45.3% FG (20.3 FGA), 7.9 assists, 80.2% FT, 6.4 FTM, 8.0 FTA, 40.8 minutes, 78 games, 9th in MVP voting, 1st team All-NBA
This season, the Kings still played their games at Kemper Arena. They were now known as the Kansas City Kings.
On September 11, 1976, Archibald was traded from the Kings to the New York Nets for Brian Taylor, Jim Eakins, and two first-round picks. Archibald joined Super John Williamson, the former Bull Love, and former Indiana Pacer Mel Daniels with the Nets, but the team won 22 games. Daniels played in just 13 games and Love 11. Williamson led the team in scoring at 20.8 points per game. Archibald averaged 20.5 points (44.6%, 16.5 FGA) and 7.5 assists in 37.6 minutes per game, but was limited to just 34 games after breaking his foot in January of ‘77.
Nearly one year after he was traded to the Nets, Archibald on September 1, 1977 was traded to the Buffalo Braves for two first-round picks. He would miss the entire ‘77-‘78 season because of a torn Achilles.
Archibald was dealt again after the ‘77-‘78 season to the Boston Celtics, where he would undergo a career renaissance over the next five seasons.
Tiny Archibald’s All-Star Seasons in Boston
After averaging 11.0 points and 4.7 assists in 69 games (24.1 minutes per game) in ‘78-‘79, Archibald between the ages of 31-33 would be named to the final three all-star games of his career.
1979-80: 14.1 points, 48.2% FG (9.9 FGA), 8.4 assists, 83.0% FT, 35.8 minutes, 80 games, 5th in MVP voting
The ‘79–‘80 Celtics in Larry Bird’s rookie season won 61 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in five games. In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Rockets, Archibald posted 20 points and 10 assists, followed by 15 points and 10 assists in Game 4. In Game 3 against the 76ers, he registered 18 points and 7 assists and in Game 5 put up 22 points and 9 assists.
1980-81: 13.8 points, 49.9% FG (9.6 FGA), 7.7 assists, 81.6% FT, 35.3 minutes, 72 starts in 80 games, 9th in MVP voting, 2nd team All-NBA
The ‘80-‘81 Celtics won 62 games and defeated the Rockets in six games in the Finals. Archibald scored 27 points with 7 assists in Game 1 of the first round against the Bulls, tallied 20 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in Game 1 against the 76ers, 23 points in Game 3, 18 points and 14 assists in Game 4, 23 points and 7 assists in Game 5, and 19 points and 6 assists in Game 6. In the clinching Game 6 of the Finals, he recorded 13 points and 12 assists.
1981-82: 12.6 points, 47.2% FG (9.6 FGA), 8.0 assists, 74.7% FT, 31.9 minutes, 51 starts in 69 games
The Celtics of ‘81-‘82 won 63 games and lost in seven games to the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 5 of the first round against the Washington Bullets, Archibald put up 15 points and 11 assists. In Game 2 against the 76ers, he posted 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Archibald played one final season in Boston in 1982-83, a campaign in which he averaged 10.5 points and 6.2 assists per game in 19 starts (27.4 minutes per game). The ‘83 Celtics lost in the Conference Semifinals in four games to the Bucks. In Game 1 of the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, Archibald recorded 9 points and 11 assists, and in Game 1 against the Bucks scored 23 points with 7 assists.
For the ‘83-‘84 season, Archibald played for the Bucks, appearing in 46 games and 22.6 minutes per game and averaging 7.4 points per game.
In his 13-year NBA career, Archibald averaged 18.8 points on 46.7% shooting (14.4 attempts) and 7.4 assists per game. He played in 876 career games and averaged 35.6 minutes in those games. His best years were as a Royal/King, where in 433 games (40.5 minutes per game), he posted averages of 25.2 points on 46.7% shooting (19.5 attempts), and 8.1 assists. As said, he remains the only player to league the NBA in both points and assists in the same season, a remarkable feat for a player listed at 6 feet 1 and 150 pounds.
One of the 50 Greatest players in NBA history, Archibald was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. He was also inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame that same year and in 1997 was a honoree on the Bronx Walk of Fame. His 10,894 career points are the fifth-most in the history of the now Kings franchise, while his 25.2 points per game average is second. In 2018, Dewitt-Clinton named their high school gym after both he and fellow alum Dolph Schayes.
Happy 77th, Tiny Archibald.
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