Otis Birdsong
Birdsong in 1978
Personal information
Born (1955-12-09) December 9, 1955
Winter Haven, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolWinter Haven (Winter Haven, Florida)
CollegeHouston (1973–1977)
NBA draft1977: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Kansas City Kings
Playing career1977–1989
PositionShooting guard / point guard
Number10, 12
Career history
1977–1981Kansas City Kings
1981–1988New Jersey Nets
1989Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points12,544 (18.0 ppg)
Rebounds2,072 (3.0 rpg)
Assists2,260 (3.2 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2018
Medals
Representing  United States
Men's basketball
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place1975 Mexico City Team competition

Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games.[1]

A 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) guard who attended Winter Haven High School and the University of Houston,[2] Birdsong was selected by the Kansas City Kings with the second pick of the 1977 NBA draft. He would spend four seasons with the Kings, averaging a career high 24.6 points per game during the 1980–81 season. He also played seven seasons with the New Jersey Nets and one with the Boston Celtics, and then ended his career at the end of the 1988–89 season.[3]

Collegiate playing career

One of only five numbers retired by the University of Houston men's basketball team, Birdsong's no. 10 hangs in Hofheinz Pavilion.

As a college freshman, Birdsong finished third among the team's scoring leaders with 14.3 points per game. The following year, Birdsong etched his name in the University of Houston's record books by becoming the first sophomore in the school's history to register 1,000 career points. When the Cougars began playing in the Southwest Conference, Birdsong soon established himself as the dominant scorer in the league's history. In his first year as an SWC player, Birdsong led the league in scoring, finishing eighth nationally with a 26.1 average. Birdsong was named a 1977 Consensus All-American and Southwest Conference Player of the Year after leading the Houston Cougars to a 29–8 record and the National Invitational Tournament championship game against St. Bonaventure. Birdsong scored 38 points and made 18 free throws against the Bonnies, but Houston lost. He ranked fourth nationally in scoring and set an SWC record with 30.3 points per game.[4] His accomplishments resulted in Birdsong being named SWC Player of the Decade.

Birdsong at Houston.

In addition to receiving All-American honors, Birdsong was named to the All-Southwest Conference team in 1976 and 1977. Additionally, he was named District VI Player of the Year (encompassing Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas) by the United States Basketball Writers Association. He was a member of the USBWA's All-District VI Team in 1975, 1976 and 1977, and he was team captain both his junior and senior years. During his four seasons with the Cougars, the team compiled a 79–38 record. He left the University of Houston as the school's second leading all-time scorer with 2,832 total college career points.

Birdsong also ranks second on Houston's career charts in field goals, third in all-time steals, sixth in assists and ninth in field goal percentages. He continues to hold the school record for free throws with a total of 480.

Professional career

After completing his eligibility at the University of Houston, Birdsong was the second player chosen in the 1977 NBA draft when he was taken by the Kansas City Kings.

On January 28, 1979, Birdsong recorded a career-high 11 assists alongside 30 points in a 137–109 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.[5]

On January 29, 1980, Birdsong scored a career-high 49 points while making 20 of 25 field goals in a win against the Denver Nuggets.[6]

During the 1980-81 NBA season, after averaging a career best 24.6 points per game, Birdsong played a lead role in the 40-42 Five Seed Kings making an unlikely run to the Western Conference Finals.[7] In the first round of the playoffs, Birdsong averaged 27 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals, in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.[8] However, the first game of the second round, Birdsong was sidelined with a devastating ankle injury.[9] Despite this, the Kings, who also were missing starting guard Phil Ford due to an eye injury suffered in the regular season, pulled off a surprising 4-3 series victory over the Phoenix Suns. However, in the Western Conference Finals the Kings unexpected playoff run would come to an end, when defeated in five games by the Moses Malone-led Houston Rockets.[10]

On June 8, 1981, Birdsong was traded by Kansas City with a 1981 2nd round draft pick (Steve Lingenfelter was later selected) to the New Jersey Nets for Cliff Robinson.[11]

Birdsong’s deepest postseason run with the Nets would come in 1984. The Nets upset the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers, led by Moses Malone and Julius Erving, in the first round. Now accepting a more team-oriented role than in Kansas City, Birdsong was 4th in team points per game in the series at 14.4, while teammates Buck Williams and Michael Ray Richardson took primary scoring duties.[12] The following series, however, the Nets would fall to Sidney Moncrief and the Milwaukee Bucks.[13]

In total, he scored over 12,000 career points, averaging 18 points per game, in 12 seasons with the Kings, New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics. Birdsong played in four NBA All-Star Games. He was a member of the All-NBA Second Team in 1981.

Birdsong returned to Houston following his career and served as a member of the Cougars' radio broadcast team for several seasons before moving to Dallas.

In 2000, Birdsong was inducted in the University of Houston's Hall of Honor as well as the Polk County, Florida Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was inducted into the Florida High School Hall of fame.[14]

On October 20, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas, Birdsong was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame (presented by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame).

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1977–78 Kansas City 73—25.7.492—.6972.42.41.0.215.8
1978–79 Kansas City 82—34.6.509—.7254.33.41.5.221.7
1979–80 Kansas City 82—35.2.505.278.6944.02.51.7.322.7
1980–81 Kansas City 71—36.5.544.286.6973.63.31.3.324.6
1981–82 New Jersey 372227.7.469.000.5832.63.4.8.114.2
1982–83 New Jersey 625430.4.511.333.5662.43.91.4.315.1
1983–84 New Jersey 695731.4.508.250.6082.53.91.2.219.8
1984–85 New Jersey 564532.9.511.190.6222.64.11.5.120.6
1985–86 New Jersey 777431.1.513.364.5812.63.41.1.215.8
1986–87 New Jersey 7618.1.452.000.6671.02.4.4.06.3
1987–88 New Jersey 675928.1.458.360.5112.53.3.8.210.9
1988–89 Boston 1308.3.500.333.0001.0.7.2.12.8
Career 69631731.1.506.274.6553.03.21.2.218.0
All-Star 4013.0.375—.5001.5.5.8.03.5

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1979 Kansas City 5—33.6.513—.7113.61.82.0.021.0
1980 Kansas City 3—37.6.484.000.4297.72.31.3.022.0
1981 Kansas City 8—29.3.5711.000.6112.63.41.5.015.5
1983 New Jersey 2—18.5.375.000.5001.04.51.5.06.5
1984 New Jersey 11—35.2.415.000.5212.43.71.8.115.2
1986 New Jersey 3344.0.527.000.5794.03.32.01.023.0
1989 Boston 316.7.200.000—.7.3.3.3.7
Career 35431.1.480.091.5833.03.01.6.115.6

References

  1. ↑ "OTIS BIRDSONG". Flasportshof.org. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ Young, Matt (March 5, 2017). "Great moments in the history of Hofheinz Pavilion". Chron.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Polk State MLK Speaker and NBA All-Star Otis Birdsong: "There Is Always Hope"". Polk.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Cleveland Cavaliers at Kansas City Kings Box Score, January 28, 1979". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Kansas City Kings at Denver Nuggets Box Score, January 29, 1980". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Otis Birdsong Per Game Averages". Basketball Reference.
  8. ↑ "1981 NBA Western Conference First Round Kings vs. Trail Blazers". Basketball Reference.
  9. ↑ "A KINGDOM OF BELIEVERS". Sports Illustrated - Vault.
  10. ↑ "KANGZ, A-Z: Otis Birdsong, scoring machine". SBNATION.
  11. ↑ "Otis Birdsong Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  12. ↑ "1983–84 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  13. ↑ "1984 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals – Nets vs. Bucks". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Otis Birdsong". Dhsaa.org. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
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