Happy 82nd Birthday, Gail Goodrich

Photo: Gail Goodrich shoots over the Philadelphia 76ers’ Kevin Loughery. Photo courtesy of Bettmann, Getty Images.

NBA legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich turns 82 on April 23. 

Goodrich, a smooth-shooting lefty, was born in Los Angeles, Calif. and played his high school ball at John H. Francis Polytechnic in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was taught the game by his father, who was the captain of the 1939 USC men’s basketball team and a volunteer basketball coach in Orange County, Calif.

For college, Goodrich attended UCLA where he played for the legendary John Wooden. In 89 collegiate games from 1962-65, the 6 foot, 1 inch Goodrich averaged 19.0 points and 4.7 rebounds on 47.6% shooting from the field. He averaged 21.5 points per game in his junior season and 24.8 points per game as a senior as the Bruins won the NCAA championship in both 1964 and 1965. As a senior, Goodrich was a consensus 1st team All-American, and was two-time NCAA All-Region, two-time All Pac-12 and was twice named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. 

Goodrich was a territorial draft choice, 3rd overall, in the 1965 NBA Draft, a draft that included Hall of Fame forwards Bill Bradley (1st overall), Rick Barry (5th), Billy Cunningham (8th), and guard Jerry Sloan (7th). Goodrich’s future Laker teammates Flynn Robinson and Keith Erickson were also selected in that same draft. 

Not seeing much playing time as a rookie under head coach Fred Schaus, Goodrich averaged 7.8 points in just 15.5 minutes per game in 65 games. In his second season, his minutes were upped to 23, and he shot 45.4% on 10 attempts for a per game average of 12.4 points. As a third-year player, Goodrich averaged 26 minutes per game, and increased his scoring average once again, to 13.8 points, while shooting 48.6% on 10 attempts, and getting to the line five times per game and making 77% of his foul shots. 

Goodrich was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1968’s expansion draft, and with increased opportunity became an all-star for the first time - 23.8 points, 6.4 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 41% from the field, 74.7% from the line, and a career-high 40.0 minutes per game in 81 games. He eclipsed 30 points on 20 different occasions in 1968-69, with games of 41, 40, 43 (twice) and 47 points. 

On February 21 in a 133-121 loss to Chicago, he scored 43 points with 12 assists and 7 rebounds on 18-of-37 and 7 made free-throws in 46 minutes. In his other 43 point game, on February 28, a 121-117 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, he made 16-of-37 shots (11-for-13 from the line) with 13 assists and 9 rebounds. Thirteen times that season he also recorded 10 more or assists, including 15 assists twice, one of which occurred on March 9 in a 146-133 win over the San Diego Rockets in which he scored 47 points with 8 rebounds on 16-for-32 and 15-for-18 from the line in 46 minutes. 

In 1969-70, Goodrich played 81 games once again (39.9 minutes per), and averaged 20.0 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 45.4% shooting despite a decrease in shot attempts from 21.6 per game the previous season to 15.4. 

After two seasons in Phoenix, Goodrich was traded to the Lakers in May of 1970 for backup center Mel Counts. In his second stint in Los Angeles, Goodrich would become a crucial part of the Lakers’ Big 3 with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, leading to the historic 69-13 team of 1971-72 that won 33 straight games and defeated the New York Knicks 4-1 in the ‘72 Finals. 

The season before that history-making campaign, Goodrich shot an average of 14.9 times per game in 1970-71, and made 47.5% of his shots and 77% of his free-throws, and averaged 17.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 35.5 minutes. Though the Lakers lost in five games in the ‘71 Western Conference Finals to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks, Goodrich had himself a stellar ‘71 postseason. 

As the Lakers played without Jerry West throughout that playoffs, Goodrich saw an increase in shot attempts and averaged 30.1 points (7.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds) on 45.9% shooting (85.5% from the free-throw line) in 44.9 minutes per game in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Bulls. The 27-year-old was the high-point man in four out of the seven games, including 39 points in Game 3 (11-for-23 from the field and 17-for-17 from the line). He along with Chamberlain and forward Jim McMillian played all 48 minutes in the game. 

In the Lakers’ 109-98 win in Game 7, Goodrich shot 11-for-20 and made seven of his eight free-throw attempts for 29 points and 9 assists. He played 46 minutes in that game. 

The 1971-72 season was the first of four consecutive All-Star appearances for Goodrich, who with West provided the NBA with its most potent backcourt. 

While West averaged 25.8 points, Goodrich averaged 25.9 (4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds) and played all 82 games for the first time in his career. With his shot attempts back in the 20s (20.7), the guard made 48.7% of his attempts, and shot 85% from the line on 6.8 free-throw attempts. 

Goodrich opened the ‘72 playoffs with consecutive 32-point performances on a combined 23-of-45 shooting in the Lakers’ first two games of their first-round sweep of the Bulls. In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Bucks, Goodrich shot 12-for-21 (6-for-7 from the line) for 30 points, and again reached 30 points (31 on 14-for-18 shooting) in the Lakers’ 106-92 Game 2 Finals victory against the Knicks. In Games 3-5 he scored 25, 27, and 25 points on 41% shooting. 

Over his next two seasons, Goodrich played 158 games (82 in 1973-74) with his shots per game over 21 in each of those seasons. He shot 46.4% in 1972-73 (35.5 minutes) and averaged 23.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. He scored 30 or more points 20 times, including 46 points and 11 rebounds (19-for-36, 8-for-10 from the line) in a 110-103 Laker win in Portland on February 17. In the Lakers’ Game 5 close out in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors (128-118 Lakers), Goodrich again scored over 40 points, going for 44 with 8 assists on 19-for-26 shooting and 6-for-7 from the line. 

In Game 1 of the ‘73 Finals, the Lakers’ only win of the series, Goodrich in 37 minutes shot 10-for-17 (10-for-16 from the line) and scored 30 points with 5 assists and 3 rebounds. He led Games 1 and 5 of the series in scoring, shooting 11-for-23 and 6-for-6 from the line for 28 points and 5 rebounds in Game 5. Goodrich’s 21.8 points per game led all players in the series, as he also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 46.2% shooting and 75.8% from the line. 

The next season, the Lakers’ first post-Wilt, Goodrich averaged 21.6 shots per game (the same number as his first season in Phoenix) and just like ‘71-‘72 was over 25 points per game (25.3) with 5.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on 44.2% from the field and 86.4% from the line on his way to being named 1st team All-NBA. He also led the NBA in both free-throws made (508) and attempted (588) that season. This time around, he eclipsed 30 points on 21 different nights, including five games of 40+ points, one of which was a 49-point performance (5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals) on 18-for-28 and a perfect 13-of-13 from the line in 40 minutes in a 111-98 Laker win against the Trail Blazers on October 28. 

In the Lakers’ five game, first round loss to the Bucks in the ‘74 playoffs, Goodrich was the Lakers’ high scorer in Game 1 - 99-95 defeat - with 31 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block on 13-for-26 (5-for-6 from the line) in 43 minutes. In Game 3 of the series, which would be the last of West’s illustrious career, Goodrich recorded 22 points and 12 assists on 8-for-21 (6-for-9 from the line) in 41 minutes in the Lakers’ 98-96 victory. 

Goodrich’s last all-star campaign came the following season (1974-75) in which he played in 72 games, made 45.9% of his shots on 19.8 attempts, and shot 84.1% from the line. He averaged 22.6 points per game with 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in what would be the last season of his career averaging over 20 points per game. 

In 1975-76, the 32-year-old Goodrich played in 75 games (35.3 minutes per game) and shot 44.1% from the field (17.6 shots per game) and 84.7% from the line in the Lakers’ first season with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whom they traded for in June of 1975. Goodrich averaged just a shade under 20 points (19.5) points with 5.6 rebounds, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals. 

Goodrich signed on with the New Orleans Jazz for 1976-77, now part of another Hall of Fame backcourt, this time with Pete Maravich. After playing 27 games due to injury in his first season in New Orleans, Goodrich played in 81 games in 1977-78 (31.5 minutes) making 49.5% of his 13 shots per game, and 79.5% of his free-throws with averages of 16.1 points and 4.8 assists. Maravich played 50 games that season due to a knee injury. 

In his final season, Goodrich played in 74 games (28.8 minutes) and shot 44.9% on 11.5 shots, and averaged 12.7 points, and once again 4.8 assists. 

Retiring after that 1978-79 season, Goodrich wrapped up a career in which over 14 seasons he played 1,031 games and amassed 19,181 career points. For his career, he shot 45.6% from the field and 80.7% from the free-throw line, producing 18.6 points per game with 4.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds. In the final six seasons of his career, steals were an official stat, and he averaged 1.3 per game. In nine seasons as a Laker, the Hall of Fame guard in 687 games averaged 19.0 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds on 46% shooting while playing 31.7 minutes per game. 

Goodrich was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. His 277 made field-goals in 1964-65 are tied with Bill Walton for the fourth-most in a season in UCLA history, and his 24.8 points that same season and 21.8 points in 1963-64 are the fourth and ninth most in a season in program history. As a Laker, his 1,773 field-goal attempts in 1973-74 are also the ninth-most in franchise history in an individual season, as are his 826 made 2-point field-goals in 1971-72. 

Happy 82nd Birthday, Gail Goodrich.