Remembering Dave DeBusschere: 1940-2003
- Jake C
- Oct 16
- 5 min read
Cover photo: New York Knick forward Dave DeBusschere drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers. Photo credit: NBAE via Getty Images.
Eighty-five years ago today, an NBA legend was born.
Dave DeBusschere was born on Oct. 16, 1940 in Detroit, Mich. The two-sport star would go on to become an eventual Basketball Hall of Famer.
DeBusschere attended Austin Catholic Preparatory School, where he led his team as a senior to the Michigan Class A state championship, scoring 32 points in the championship game. As a pitcher on the baseball team, he led his school to a city championship and junior national title.
Playing three years locally at Detroit Mercy, the 6 foot, 6 inch forward led his teams to one NCAA tournament berth and two NIT berths. He averaged 24.8 points and 19.3 rebounds in 80 collegiate games. As a sophomore and junior, he led the NCAA in rebounds per game at 20.0 and 19.0.
DeBusschere made his Major League Baseball debut on April 22, 1962 against the Kansas City Athletics, and pitched 36 games for the Chicago White Sox over two seasons. In 1963, he started 10 games, going 3-4 with an earned run average of 3.09.
In the 1962 NBA Draft, DeBusschere was drafted fourth overall by the Detroit Pistons as a territorial draft choice. He averaged 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game as a rookie in 80 games. After playing just 15 games in his second season, he was an All-Star for three consecutive seasons.
Dave DeBusschere All-Star Seasons: Detroit
1965-66: 16.4 points, 40.8% FG (16.3 FGA), 11.6 rebounds, 34.1 minutes, 79 games
1966-67: 18.2 points, 41.5% FG (16.4 FGA), 11.8 rebounds, 37.1 minutes, 78 games
1967-68: 17.9 points, 44.2% FG (16.2 FGA), 13.5 rebounds, 39.1 minutes, 80 games
DeBusschere played in two playoff series with the Pistons, against the St. Louis Hawks in 1963 and the Boston Celtics in 1968. Notable games against the Hawks in that 1963 series included 30 points (9-of-16 from the field and 12-of-16 from the field) and 18 rebounds in 34 minutes in Game 1, on March 20, 1963. In Game 3 on March 24, 1963, he shot 7-of-18 from the field and 9-of-13 from the line in 46 minutes for 23 points and 26 rebounds. In 1968 against the Celtics, DeBusschere, against Bill Russell, averaged 19.3 points and 16.2 rebounds per game in 43.8 minutes per game. He registered 19 points and 24 rebounds in Game 1 and 26 points and 23 rebounds in Game 5.
In 29 games with the Pistons in the 1968-69 season, DeBusschere in 37.7 minutes per game averaged 16.3 points and 12.2 rebounds. The team on December 18, 1968 defeated the San Diego Rockets 124-112 and was sporting an 11-18 record. The following day, DeBusschere was dealt to the New York Knicks, a 43-win team from the prior season, for center Walt Bellamy and guard Howie Komives. In New York, Bellamy had shared the front court with fellow star Willis Reed, but the pairing was not an ideal fit. It was a team that, Walt Frazier told me in 2025, “had a lot of cliques”. Bellamy and Komives both had their unique ways of doing things, and it was impacting team chemistry. DeBusschere became a crucial piece to the Knicks’ impending 1970 title, a series that they won 4-3 over the Los Angeles Lakers.
“When they traded those two guys (Bellamy and Komives), I became a starter,” Frazier told me. “Reed moved back to center, then we got DeBuscherre. Then we became a championship team.”
The 1968-69 Knicks won 54 games, swept the Baltimore Bullets in the Eastern Division Semifinals and lost in six games in the Eastern Division Finals to the Celtics. DeBusschere in 47 games (39.4 minutes per game and 15.3 shot attempts) shot 44.2% from the field and averaged 16.4 points and 11.4 rebounds.
From 1969-70 to his final season of 1973-74, DeBusschere was an All-Star and 1st team All-Defense member in each of those seasons.
Dave DeBusschere All-Star Seasons: New York
1969-70: 14.6 points, 45.1% FG (13.7 FGA), 10.0 rebounds, 33.3 minutes, 79 games
1970-71: 15.6 points, 42.1% FG (15.3 FGA), 11.1 rebounds, 35.7 minutes, 81 games
1971-72: 15.4 points, 42.7% FG (15.2 FGA), 11.3 rebounds, 38.4 minutes, 80 games, 10th in MVP voting
1972-73: 16.3 points, 43.5% FG (15.9 FGA), 10.2 rebounds, 36.7 minutes, 77 games, 11th in MVP voting
1973-74: 18.1 points, 46.1% FG (17.1 FGA), 10.7 rebounds, 38.0 minutes, 71 games, 11th in MVP voting
DeBusschere played in 15 playoff series with the Knicks and recorded 49 double-doubles. He posted five in the 1970 Finals against the Lakers - 19 points and 16 rebounds in Game 1, 18 points and 14 rebounds in Game 2, 21 points and 15 rebounds in Game 3, 20 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4, and 18 points and 17 rebounds in Game 7. With Reed out due to injury in Game 6, DeBusschere posted 25 points (12-of-25) and 9 rebounds.
In Game 5 of the 1971 Conference Semifinals against the Hawks, DeBusschere registered 29 points and 22 rebounds, which was to that point his fifth career 20-20 game playoff game. In Game 2 of 1972’s Conference Semifinals against the Baltimore Bullets (110-88 Knicks), DeBusschere tallied 29 points on 13-of-18 shooting with 14 rebounds. The Knicks met the Lakers again in the Finals but lost in five games. DeBusschere averaged 10.4 points and 12.8 rebounds in the series in 33.2 minutes.
In Game 4 of the 1973 Finals, a series that the Knicks won 4-1 over the Lakers, he posted 33 points (13-of-21 from the field, 7-of-8 from the line) and 14 rebounds in 44 minutes. His final playoff double-double came on April 14, 1974 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. The 33-year-old DeBusschere, playing against 25-year-old all-star Dave Cowens, posted 15 points and 10 rebounds.
DeBusschere retired after the 1973-74 season at age 33. In a decorated 12-year career, he averaged 16.1 points and 11.1 rebounds in 875 career games, shooting 43.2% from the field (15.1 attempts) in 35.7 minutes per game. He played 440 games as a Piston, averaging 16.1 points (42.5%) and 11.2 rebounds per game in 34.6 minutes per game. As a Knick, in 435 games, he posted 16.0 points (43.9%) and 10.7 rebounds in 36.7 minutes per game. He was three times an All-Star with the Pistons and five times with the Knicks.
Post-career, DeBusschere was the commissioner of the ABA for 1975-76. He was the Knicks’ Director of Basketball Operations in 1985 when the franchise drafted Patrick Ewing first overall.
In 1983, DeBusschere was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and was honored as one of the NBA’s 50th Greatest Players at 1997’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland. On March 24, 1981, his No. 22 jersey was retired by the Knicks.
DeBusschere passed away from a heart attack on May 14, 2003 at the age of 62.
After DeBusschere passed, Ewing said “He’s the man who brought me to New York. I’ve always had nothing but the utmost respect for him.”
Said his former teammate Bill Bradley, “Dave DeBusschere was a loyal friend, an unselfish teammate and a quality human being. His strength, dedication and modesty lay at the core of our great Knick teams.”
On his birthday, we remember the great Dave DeBusschere.
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