William Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered the greatest backcourt duo of all time. As a coach, Sharman won titles in the ABL, ABA, and NBA, and is credited with introducing the now-ubiquitous morning shootaround.
Sharman was the first North American sports figure to win a championship as a player, coach, and executive. He was a 15-time NBA champion (having won four titles as a player with the Celtics, one as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and ten as a Lakers executive), and a 17-time champion in basketball overall counting his ABL and ABA titles. Sharman is also a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted in 1976 as a player, and in 2004 as a coach. Only John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens, Tommy Heinsohn and Bill Russell share this double honor.
Sharman is also notable for coaching the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA record 33-game win streak, a then-record regular season 69–13 win–loss mark, and the first Lakers championship in Los Angeles.
Early life
Sharman was born on May 25, 1926, in Abilene, Texas. The family moved to California when he was a child, and he grew up in Lomita, California.
He was a 15-letter athlete at PHS, excelling in basketball and baseball, competing in track, and winning the state amateur tennis title. He graduated in 1944, and was named California's Outstanding Athlete. He gave credit to PHS for contributing to his later success in life.
Sharman played basketball for four years at USC (1946–1950). He averaged 15.9 points per game as a junior (1948–1949), and 18.6 as a senior (1949–1950). Sharman was twice selected All-Pacific Coast Conference and twice as the Conference's MVP.
Sharman played USC basketball under Hall of Fame head coach Sam Barry. In addition to Sharman, Barry coached two other future Hall of Fame coaches in college, Tex Winter and Alex Hannum. Sharman was Hannum's teammate from 1946 to 1948 at USC. They both played with Winter during the 1946-47 USC season.
Professional baseball career
In 1950, the Brooklyn Dodgers offered him a contract with a $12,000 signing bonus, at a time when professional baseball was more prestigious than professional basketball. He was called up to the Dodgers late in the 1951 season but did not appear in a game. He was part of a September 27 game in which the entire Brooklyn bench was cleared from the dugout for arguing with the home plate umpire over a ruling at the plate. This has led to the legend that Sharman holds the distinction of being the only player in baseball history to have ever been ejected from a major league game without ever appearing in one. However, although Sharman was among the Dodger bench players that had to go to the clubhouse, none of them were actually barred from playing in the game. In fact, in the top of the ninth, one of the other dismissed players, Wayne Terwilliger, was used as a pinch-hitter in the game.
Sharman continued to play baseball until breaking his basketball shooting hand while sliding into home plate, after which he decided to focus solely on basketball. The team offered him $5,000, the most ever paid to a rookie. After refusing the initial offer, and telling the Capitols he wanted to play baseball, the team increased the offer to $8,000 and Sharman joined the Capitols. The team failed financially 35 games into the 1950–1951 season.
Earl Lloyd, the African American player who broke the NBA's color barrier was a Capitols' teammate. Lloyd did not have a car, and Sharman would drive over to Lloyd's home in segregated Washington, D.C. to pick Lloyd up, so Lloyd would not have to take long bus rides. Lloyd said of Sharman, "'Bill was a decent guy when it wasn't fashionable...."
Sharman was one of the first NBA guards to shoot better than .400 from the field, with a .450 percentage in 1953–1954. He led the NBA in free throw percentage a record seven times (including a record five consecutive seasons), His career percentage was .883. Sharman was named to the All-NBA First Team from 1956 through 1959, and was an All-NBA Second Team member in 1953, 1955, and 1960. Sharman still holds the NBA All-Star Game record for field goals attempted in a quarter with 12.
The pairing of Sharman and fellow Celtics guard Bob Cousy, combining a pure shooter with a playmaker, formed the first modern backcourt.
Sharman ended his NBA playing career after 11 seasons in 1961. In his second and final season with the Warriors, the team finished third and lost in the Division Finals to the Lakers.
Los Angeles / Utah Stars (1968–1971)
thumb|left|150px|Sharman as a coach in 1971
Sharman became coach of the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Association for the 1968–1969 season. He was a co-recipient of the ABA Coach of the Year honors in 1969–1970, with Joe Belmont of the Denver Rockets. The championship team's star player was league MVP and future Hall of Fame center Zelmo Beaty. The Stars defeated the Kentucky Colonels, and their future hall of fame center Dan Issel, four games to three for the championship.
Los Angeles Lakers (1971–1976)
After resigning as coach for the Utah Stars, Sharman signed a contract to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. Controversy later ensued when the owner of the Utah Stars brought suit against Sharman for breach of contract stemming from his resignation, and a tort case against the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers for inducing such breach of contract. Sharman was originally ordered to pay $250,000 in damages, but later appealed the trial court decision and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the judgement.
The following season, Sharman guided the Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West-led Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA record 33 game win streak, a then-record 69–13 win–loss mark, the first Lakers championship in Los Angeles and the first for the team in more than a decade. Hannum and Sharman had been teammates at USC, under coach Sam Barry. Including the ABL, Sharman is the only coach to win championships in three different professional leagues. Sharman ended his coaching career after the 1975–1976 season to become the Lakers general manager. He is one of only five people to be enshrined in both categories, the others being John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens, and his former teammates Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell.
In 1971, Sharman was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team. On October 29, 1996, Sharman was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players. In October 2021, Sharman was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
The gymnasium at Porterville High School is named after Sharman.
Executive career
As Lakers general manager, Sharman built the 1980 and 1982 NBA championship teams, and as Lakers president he oversaw the 1985, 1987, and 1988 NBA championship teams after naming West his successor as GM in 1982. Sharman retired from the Lakers front office in 1991 at age 65. The voice problems later limited his ability to function as an executive.
Sharman was the author of two books, Sharman on Basketball Shooting and The Wooden-Sharman Method: A Guide to Winning Basketball with John Wooden and Bob Selzer.
After his former basketball team the Los Angeles Jets dissolved in 1962, he sued to enforce his employment contract with the Jets, culminating in the case Sharman v. Longo (1967) 249 Cal.App.2d 948.
Personal life and death
Sharman's marriage to his first wife, Illeana, lasted over 20 years and resulted in four children before their divorce in 1968. He was married to his second wife, Dorothy, from 1969 until her death from cancer in 1975. Sharman married Joyce McLay in 1981, with whom he remained married until his death.
Sharman died at his home in Redondo Beach, California, on October 25, 2013, at the age of 87, after having had a stroke the week prior.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1950–51
| style="text-align:left;" |Washington
|31
|
|.370
|.889
|3.5
|1.3
|12.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1951–52
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|63
|22.0
|.389
|.859
|3.5
|2.4
|10.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1952–53
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|71
|32.9
|.436
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.850*
|4.1
|2.7
|16.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1953–54
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|72
|34.3
|.450
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.844*
|3.5
|3.2
|16.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1954–55
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|68
|36.1
|.427
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.897*
|4.4
|4.1
|18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1955–56
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|72
|37.5
|.438
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.867*
|3.6
|4.7
|19.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1956–57†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|67
|35.9
|.416
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.905*
|4.3
|3.5
|21.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1957–58
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|63
|35.1
|.424
|.893
|4.7
|2.7
|22.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1958–59†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|72
|33.1
|.408
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.932*
|4.1
|2.5
|20.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1959–60†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|71
|27.0
|.456
|.866
|3.7
|2.0
|19.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1960–61†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|61
|25.2
|.422
| style="background:#cfecec;"|.921*
|3.7
|2.4
|16.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|711
|32.0
|.426
|.883
|3.9
|3.0
|17.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |All-Star
|8
|24.3
|.385
|.815
|3.9
|2.0
|12.8
|}
Playoffs
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1952
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|1
|27.0
|.583
|1.000
|3.0
|7.0
|15.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1953
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|6
|33.5
|.333
|.938
|2.5
|2.5
|11.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1954
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|6
|34.3
|.432
|.860
|4.2
|1.7
|18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1955
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|7
|41.4
|.500
|.921
|5.4
|5.4
|20.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1956
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|3
|39.7
|.391
|.941
|2.3
|4.0
|17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1957†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|10
|37.7
|.381
|.953
|3.5
|2.9
|21.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1958
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|11
|36.9
|.407
|.929
|4.9
|2.3
|21.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1959†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|11
|29.3
|.425
|.966
|3.3
|2.5
|20.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1960†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|13
|28.0
|.421
|.811
|3.5
|1.5
|16.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA" |1961†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|10
|26.1
|.511
|.889
|2.7
|1.7
|16.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|78
|33.0
|.426
|.911
|3.7
|2.6
|18.5
|}
Head coaching record
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|San Francisco
| style="text-align:left;"|
|81||44||37|||| style="text-align:center;"|1st in Western||15||9||6||
| style="text-align:center;"|Lost in NBA Finals
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|San Francisco
| style="text-align:left;"|
|82||43||39|||| style="text-align:center;"|3rd in Western||10||4||6||
| style="text-align:center;"|Lost in Div. Finals
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles (ABA)
| style="text-align:left;"|
|78||33||45|||| style="text-align:center;"|5th in Western||-||-||-||
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles (ABA)
| style="text-align:left;"|
|84||43||41|||| style="text-align:center;"|4th in Western||17||10||7||
| style="text-align:center;"|Lost in ABA Finals
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| style="text-align:left;"|Utah (ABA)
| style="text-align:left;"|
|84||57||27|||| style="text-align:center;"|2nd in Western||18||12||6||
| style="text-align:center;"|Won ABA Championship
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles
| style="text-align:left;"|
|82||69||13|||| style="text-align:center;"|1st in Pacific||15||12||3||
| style="text-align:center;"|Won NBA Championship
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles
| style="text-align:left;"|
|82||60||22|||| style="text-align:center;"|1st in Pacific||17||9||8||
| style="text-align:center;"|Lost in NBA Finals
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles
| style="text-align:left;"|
|82||47||35|||| style="text-align:center;"|1st in Pacific||5||1||4||
| style="text-align:center;"|Lost in Conf. Semifinals
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles
| style="text-align:left;"|
|82||30||52|||| style="text-align:center;"|5th in Pacific||-||-||-||
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Los Angeles
| style="text-align:left;"|
|82||40||42|||| style="text-align:center;"|4th in Pacific||-||-||-||
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"|Career
| ||819||466||353|||| ||97||57||40||||
See also
- List of National Basketball Association career free throw percentage leaders
References
External links
- Profile as a player
- Profile as a coach