Bruce A. Seals (June 18, 1953 – December 15, 2020) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). Seals was drafted in the first round by the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving t ...

, playing two seasons in the ABA before being selected in the second round of the

1975 NBA draft The 1975 NBA draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 29, 1975, before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

. He played three seasons in the NBA.Bruce Seals Statistics
Basketball-Reference.com Seals' career spanned five seasons, two leagues, primarily at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position. Due to a variety of issues, he retired from the NBA in 1978. Seals did a stint in the Italian League after leaving the NBA.A Positive Place for Kids
In his later years, Seals worked with the

Boys and Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...

, teaching inner city youth the power of the game. He had been with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester since 1990.

Biography

Born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Seals attended high school at Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans. In 1971, Seals was named Louisiana's Most Valuable High School basketball player.

Collegiate career

Seals attended

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Cathol ...

, where he played basketball under coach

Bob Hopkins Robert M. Hopkins (November 3, 1934 – May 15, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. Biography A native of Jonesboro, La., Hopkins participated in football, basketball, baseball, and track (He was invited to participate in the ...

, and alongside his teammate and future NBA star Donald "Slick" Watts. For the 1972 season, Watts and Seals would lead the Gold Rush to its first NAIA District 30 Men's Basketball championship defeating Nicholls State University 85-83, but would lose to Westmont in the 1972 NAIA men's basketball tournament semi-finals, 71-59. For his Junior, and final season, he and Watts would lead the Xavier Gold Rush to their second consecutive NAIA District 30 Championship, defeating Dillard University 101-80. In the

1973 NAIA men's basketball tournament Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

they would upset Sam Houston State University, 67-60, in the second round. At the time, the Bearkats were ranked first in the country in all college division polls and had gone 34 games, over a two-year period, without a loss. The Xavier Gold Rush would eventually lose in the semi-finals to Maryland-Eastern Shore 87-80. For his 1972-73 season, Seals would earn NAIA All American and Associated Press All American honors. Seals would leave Xavier after his Junior year to sign with the Utah Stars.

1973–74 season

Seals was selected by the

in the first round of the ABA draft. The Utah Stars had posted the best record in the ABA Western Division in the previous season (55-29 in the 1972–73 season). In his first regular season with the Utah Stars, Seals played 78 games, averaging 17.4 minutes per game, with 7.0 points per game. The Utah Stars won the Western Division (51-33). In the

post-season The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, the Utah Stars defeated the

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

to win the Western Division semifinals. Thereafter, they beat the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division finals. The Utah Stars lost the championship series, though, to the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Seals contributed 89 points in the post-season over 15 games, playing 260 minutes for the Utah Stars, with 5.9 points per game.Bruce Seals Past Stats, Playoff Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards

1974–75 season

In his second regular season with the Utah Stars, Seals played only 35 games, averaging 10.6 minutes per game, with 4.0 points per game. He was joined by a strong high school center the Stars drafted,

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cen ...

. The Utah Stars finished in fourth place in the Western Division, an upset, with a record of 38-46. In the

, the Utah Stars were defeated in the first round by the Denver Nuggets in a five-game series. While Seals played very little, he produced over a point per minute. He racked up 24 points in the post-season over 3 games, playing 41 minutes, with 8 ppg for the Utah Stars.

1975–76 season

Seals was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round of the

. Seals played 81 games for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1975–76 season. He averaged 30.1 minutes per game, with 11.8 points per game. He contributed a total of 957 points to the Seattle SuperSonics this season. Seals performed well in the

, playing 6 games, racking up 181 minutes on the court, and supplying 78 points, with 13 ppg for the Seattle SuperSonics. The 1975–76 season saw the Seattle SuperSonics finishing the season at second-place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, with a record of 43-39 (.524) behind the Golden State Warriors who led the division and conference with a record of 59-23 (.720). The SuperSonics’ record placed them in the second place spot across the entire Western Conference, which consisted of nine teams, still only being led by the Golden State Warriors. Seals finished the season tied for the fourth highest amount of personal fouls in the league, with 314.

1976–77 season

Seals played 81 games for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1976–77 season. He averaged 24.4 minutes per game, with 11.0 points per game. He contributed a total of 894 points to the Seattle SuperSonics this season. The 1976–77 season saw the Seattle SuperSonics finishing the season near the bottom of the division and conference with a 40-42 record (.488), among eleven teams that comprised the Western Conference.

1977–78 season

Seals played 73 games for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1977–78 season. He averaged 18.1 minutes per game, with 7.8 points per game. He contributed a total of 571 points to the Seattle SuperSonics this season. Seals played very little in the

, playing in 9 games, but only racking up 92 minutes on the court. He contributed a total of 27 points for the Seattle SuperSonics in the post-season. The 1977–78 season saw the Seattle SuperSonics finishing the season fourth in the eleven-team Western Conference, third in the Pacific Division with a record of 47-35 (.573). Seattle managed to win the Western Conference, and led the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

before losing the series in the NBA Finals.1977–78 Seattle Supersonics Statistics
Basketball-Reference.com While Seattle boasted the third highest ranked defense in the NBA at the close of the season, they also represented the second worst offensive ranking among twenty-two teams.

Statistics

ABA career

In his two years with the Utah Stars in the American Basketball Association, Seals played 113 games, averaging 15.3 minutes per game, with 6.1 points per game. He contributed a total of 685 points to the Utah Stars. In his two years in the post-season, he played 18 games, playing 301 minutes on the court, sinking 113 points for the Utah Stars. This is 16.7 minutes per game and 6.3 points per game in the post-season. Bruce Seals had the forty-third highest career blocks in the American Basketball Association, with 73, but his 73 blocks occurred over only two years. Additionally, Seals holds the ninety-fifth highest career steals record in the ABA, with 72 steals.

NBA career

In his three seasons in the NBA, Bruce Seals played in 235 games, averaging 24.4 minutes per game, and averaging 10.3 points. He contributed a total of 2422 points to the Seattle SuperSonics over his three years in the NBA.

Later years

In speaking of his basketball experiences, Seals said "the game was good to me... I saw the world." After leaving the Seattle SuperSonics, Seals did just that with a stint in the Italian leagues. Years later, Bruce married and had two children. In 1990, Seals and his family moved to Boston. Seals came to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester as Assistant Athletic Director. One year later, in 1991, Seals assumed the position of Director, which he has held ever since. At the time of his death, Seals worked for the

, teaching inner city youth that basketball is more powerful than violence. Along with his responsibilities working with the youth of inner city Boston, and being a family man, Seals was also supportive of his niece, former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

athlete, Joy Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth, a point guard, played women's basketball for the Division I-A Arizona Wildcats in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) through the 2006–07 season.Joy Hollingsworth
Arizona Wildcats Official Site Seals continued to be involved in basketball as an assistant coach at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts under head coach Hank Smith after the 1994–95 season. Seals died on December 15, 2020 at the age of 67.

References

External links

Italian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seals, Bruce 1953 births 2020 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from New Orleans Emerson Lions men's basketball coaches Pallacanestro Varese players Power forwards (basketball) Reyer Venezia players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Small forwards Sportspeople from New Orleans Utah Stars players Xavier Gold Rush basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people