Happy 82nd Birthday Bill Bradley
- Jake C
- Jul 28
- 4 min read
Cover photo: Bill Bradley leans in for a jump shot. Photo credit: Associated Press 1974.
Former New York Knick and politician Bill Bradley celebrates a birthday on July 28 as he turns 82 years old.
Bradley was born in Crystal City, Mo., and played at Crystal City High School. At Crystal City, Bradley was a two-time Parade All-American.
Heading into college, Bradley received 75 scholarship offers and initially decided on Duke University before changing his mind and enrolling at Princeton University.
In 83 games with the Tigers, Bradley averaged 30.2 points and 12.1 rebounds. As a junior, he averaged 32.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game and was a 1st team All-American. He averaged 30.5 points and 11.8 rebounds as a senior - a season in which he led his school to the Final Four - and was 1st team All-American once again and the Associated Press’ Player of the Year. Against Wichita State in the Final Four’s consolation game, he scored a tournament record 58 points.
Bradley was 3-time All-Ivy League, and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. He was also named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 1965. He was also 2-time All-Region. In 1964, he won a Gold Medal with the US Olympic team.
Bradley was drafted in the same draft of 1965 that included Rick Barry, Gail Goodrich, Bob Love, Billy Cunningham, and Jerry Sloan. Other all-stars from the draft include Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, Flynn Robinson, and John McGlocklin.
After being drafted, Bradley elected to attend Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. While overseas, he played for Olimpia Milano. He entered the Air Force Reserves upon returning to the United States, before he joined the Knicks - a team that at the time included Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Walt Bellamy, Dick Barnett, Cazzie Russell, and draftmate Dick Van Arsdale - for the 1967-68 season. Bradley along with Frazier, Jim Caldwell, and Phil Jackson, were rookies on the team.
The ‘67-‘68 Knicks won 43 games and lost in the Eastern Division Semifinals in six games to the Philadelphia 76ers. Bradley played 45 games in the regular season (19.4 minutes per game) and averaged 8.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 rebounds on 41.6% shooting. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Earl Monroe.
In his second season of ‘68-‘69, Bradley played all 82 games, a feat he would repeat in ‘72-‘73 and also in ‘73-‘74 and ‘75-‘76. His shot attempts rose from 7.6 to 11.6, and he made 42.9% in 29.4 minutes per game for 12.4 points on average along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Bill Bradley’s Stats from First Championship Season to Last
1969-70: 14.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 46% FG, 31.3 minutes, 67 games.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Division Semifinals against the Baltimore Bullets, Bradley scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in 42 minutes. In Game 1 of the Eastern Division Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, he scored 18 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting and 4-of-4 from the line in 30 minutes. The Knicks defeated the Bucks 132-96 in Game 5, and Bradley in 34 minutes made 12-of-20 shots for 25 points, with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. In games one, two, and five against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals, Bradley scored 16 points (in each contest) on a combined 21-of-47 from the field. He scored 17 points in Game 7 on 8-of-18 shooting with 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
1970-71: 12.4 points, 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 45.3% FG, 29.5 minutes, 78 games
1971-72: 15.1 points, 4.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 46.5% FG, 35.6 minutes, 78 games
1972-73: 16.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 45.9% FG, 36.6 minutes, 82 games, All-Star.
Bradley’s 15.3 shot attempts per game in ‘72-‘73 was a career-high. Four times in the ‘73 playoffs, he scored 20 or more points. He tallied 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 7-of-15 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in 45 minutes in Game 3 of the Eastern Division Semifinals against the Bullets.
Bill Bradley’s 20-point games in 1973 NBA Finals
Game 1: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 11-of-21 FG, 37 mins
Game 2: 26 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 10-of-22 FG, 6-of-6 FT, 43 mins
Game 5: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-of-22 FG, 43 mins
In 1973-74, Bradley averaged 14.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 45.1% from the field (13.6 shots) in 34.3 minutes per game in all 82 games. He played 79 games and 82 games in the following two seasons and averaged 13.3 and 11.1 points per game in those seasons. Bradley played 67 games (15.3 minutes per game) in his final season of ‘76-‘77.
Bradley possessed a solid floor game and a reliable mid-range jump shot. For his career, the 6 foot 5 inch, 205-pounder averaged 12.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game on 44.8% shooting (11.8 attempts) in 30.2 minutes per game in 742 games. His career-high in points was 38, achieved on January 5, 1973 in a game at the Buffalo Braves. In 35 minutes in the game, Bradley shot 15-of-21 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Jerry Lucas recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 18 rebounds, and 12 assists in the contest, which was a 129-106 Knicks’ win.
In 1983, Bradley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1984 the Knicks retired his No. 24 jersey. In 2008, Bradley was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
“Bill was, in my opinion, the finest open shooter I've seen in pro basketball and he was totally unselfish,” said Bradley’s former roommate Dave DeBusschere in a 1984 piece for the New York Times.
After his playing career, Bradley delved into politics. A member of the Democratic Party and representing New Jersey, Bradley from 1979-1997 served as a United States Senator and was re-elected to the Senate in both 1984 and 1990. For the 2000 Presidential election, he was a candidate to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for President.
Happy 82nd Birthday, Bill Bradley.
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