Happy 78th Birthday, Bob Dandridge

Cover photo: Bob Dandridge of the Washington Bullets pushing the ball against the Houston Rockets. Photo credit: Norfolk State University.

An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Nov. 15 as Hall of Fame forward Bob Dandridge turns 78. 

Born in Richmond, Va., Dandridge attended local Maggie Walker High School before attending Norfolk State University.

As a junior at Norfolk, Dandridge averaged 26.1 points per game and led his team to the CIAA title. As a senior in 1968-69, Dandridge averaged a school record 32.3 points per game and was the 1969 CIAA Tournament MVP. His 1,664 points scored at the school are 14th in team history (he played just 10 games as a freshman). Dandridge holds CIAA Tournament records for points in a game (50) and total points for a tournament (114). Norfolk went 88-16 overall in Dandridge’s four seasons there. In 1983, Dandridge was inducted into the Norfolk State University Athletics Hall of Fame. 

Dandridge was drafted 45th overall (fourth round) in the 1969 NBA Draft. He is one of three Basketball Hall of Famers from that draft, the others being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jo Jo White. 

Joining Abdul-Jabbar in Milwaukee, Dandridge played 81 games in his first season, 30.4 minutes per game. He posted 13.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. In his second season, Dandridge averaged 18.4 points and 8.0 rebounds, a season in which the Bucks won 66 games and swept the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals. In the Finals, Dandridge posted 20.3 points (52.2%) and 9.8 rebounds per game. 

After averaging 18.4 points per game yet again in 1971-72, Dandridge in 1972-73 was an All-Star for the first time when he averaged 20.2 points (47.2%) and 8.2 rebounds per game in 73 games. He was an All-Star three more times in his career, in 1974-75 and 1975-76 with the Bucks and in 1978-79 with the Washington Bullets. 

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Bob Dandridge’s All-Star Seasons 

1972-73: 20.2 points (47.2% FG, 18.5 FGA), 8.2 rebounds, 39.1 minutes, 73 games 

1974-75: 19.9 points (47.3% FG, 18.3 FGA), 6.9 rebounds, 37.9 minutes, 80 games

1975-76: 21.5 points (50.2% FG, 17.8 FGA), 7.4 rebounds, 37.5 minutes, 73 games. 21.5 points per game a career-high 

1978-79: 20.4 points (49.9% FG, 16.2 FGA), 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 33.7 minutes, 78 games, 2nd team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense 

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Between his first and second All-Star campaigns, Dandridge averaged 18.9 points per game (1973-74 season). In the two seasons separating his third All-Star appearance from his last appearance, he posted averages of 20.8 points and 19.3 points per game. 

Dandridge played 839 games over his 13-year career, and averaged 18.5 points (48.4% from the field on 15.9 attempts per game) and 6.8 rebounds per game. He played an average of 35.2 minutes per night. He averaged 18.6 points per game in 618 games as a Buck (35.8 minutes) and 18.3 points per game in 221 games as a Bullet (33.5 minutes). 

In 1992, Dandridge was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2021 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

“Bob Dandridge is probably one of the most unheralded players that was part of this basketball team,” said his former Bullet teammate Elvin Hayes in 2017. In the five games of the 1979 Finals, a series that the Bullets lost in five games to the Seattle SuperSonics, Dandridge averaged 21.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. 

Said Abdul-Jabbar in 2017 of Dandridge, “Bob made it very difficult for our opponents to guard us because of his quickness. He could hit the open midrange jump shot and he was a very good defensive player."

One of the more probably underrated forwards in the history of the game. 

Happy 78th birthday to “The Greyhound” Bob Dandridge.