Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in 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 S ...

as a guard for the San Diego/Houston Rockets from 1970 to 1983. He is a currently a member of the Houston Rockets' AT&T SportsNet TV broadcast team. Standing at a height of , Murphy has the distinction of being the shortest NBA player inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

, and to play in an

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

(the latter since tied by Isaiah Thomas in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Early years

Before basketball, Calvin Murphy was a world-class baton twirler. He says he was "bullied into it" as his mother and all six of her sisters were twirlers. As an 8th grader, in 1963, he won a national championship in baton twirling. His reputation as a twirler earned him invitations to perform at major sporting events and the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

. In 1977, at the height of his basketball career in Houston, Murphy won the Texas State Men's Twirling Championship. He played basketball for Norwalk High School, where he was All-State three times and All-America twice. He is a member of the Connecticut Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a Connecticut Sportswriters Gold Key Award winner. Norwalk High School's address is now 23 Calvin Murphy Rd. in his honor.

College (1967–1970)

Murphy attended

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...

, where he was a three-time All-American. He scored 2,548 points in 77 games (33.1 points per game). One of his best games was a 68-point outing against Syracuse University at Niagara's Gallagher Center. In 1970, he led Niagara to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round, where they lost to Villanova. During his career he was famous for being one of "The Three M's", along with

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised in ...

and

Rick Mount Richard Carl Mount (born January 5, 1947) is a former American basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA). He was the first high school athlete to be featured on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated''. Early life Rick Mount's fath ...

, both of whom were NCAA Men's Division I Basketball All-Americans at the same time as Murphy. Murphy is a member of the Alpha Nu Omega chapter of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity, being initiated alongside fellow future Hall of Famer

Elvin Hayes Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma-mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and a ...

NBA (1970–1983)

Murphy was drafted by the

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

(now the Houston Rockets) as the first pick in the second round (18th overall) of the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

. In his first season, after averaging 15.8 points and 4 assists per game, Murphy was nominated to the

NBA All-Rookie The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

team. A diminutive guard at , Murphy was known for his quickness and defensive ability. During the 1975 NBA Playoffs, Murphy averaged a postseason career-high of 24.4 points and 5.6 assists per game, as the Rockets advanced past the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in the first round (Houston was in the Eastern Conference at the time), before being eliminated by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in the semifinals. Two seasons later, on March 18, 1978, Murphy set a career high with 57 points scored during a 106–104 loss to the

New Jersey 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, ...

. The following year, he earned his only All-Star selection. During the 1980-81 NBA season, Murphy played a key role in the Rockets making it to the NBA Finals. That postseason run, on April 17, 1981, Murphy led the Rockets to a decisive Western Conference Semifinals Game 7 win over the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

with 42 points, a postseason career high. After advancing past the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division ( ...

in the conference finals, in the 1981 NBA Finals Murphy and the Rockets lost to the

in a six-game series. Murphy retired in 1983. Murphy was one of the best free-throw shooters in league history, setting NBA records for most consecutive free throws made and for the highest free throw percentage in a single season (1980–1981), though both records have since been broken. He set many other records within the Rockets organization, including that of all-time leading scorer until that record was broken in 1994 by

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

. Despite being among the shortest players in the league, Murphy was considered to be an "enforcer" due to his physical playing style and willingness to confront other players for hard fouls. Murphy was inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 1993.

Post-NBA life

After retirement, Murphy continued to work for the Rockets organization in numerous roles, mainly as television analyst for Rockets games. He is currently the halftime and post-game analyst for local Rockets broadcasts on AT&T SportsNet. In 2004, he faced trial in Houston for sexually abusing five of his daughters. He was acquitted of these charges in December of that year. He hosted ''The Calvin Murphy Show'' on

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...

's Houston affiliate from 2007 until its cancellation in January 2010.

Statistics and accomplishments

*Inducted to the Naismith

in 1993 *Jersey #23 retired by the Houston Rockets *Second highest Free Throw Percentage in a Season – 206 of 215 (95.8%) in 1980–81 *NBA Consecutive Free Throws Made – 3rd, 78 (December 27, 1980 – February 28, 1981) *NBA All-Rookie Team: 1971 *NBA All-Star Team: 1979 *Games played; 1,002 *Career points: 17,949 (17.9 points per game) *Career steals: 1,165 *Career assists: 4,402 (4.4 apg) *Career high points: 57 (against New Jersey Nets- March 18, 1978) *Career playoff high: 42 (against San Antonio Spurs- April 17, 1981) *1000-point seasons: 11

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, 82 , , – , , 24.6 , , .458 , , – , , .820 , , 3.0 , , 4.0 , , – , , – , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, 82 , , – , , 31.0 , , .455 , , – , , .890 , , 3.1 , , 4.8 , , – , , – , , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , – , , 22.0 , , .465 , , – , , .888 , , 1.9 , , 3.4 , , – , , – , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , – , , 36.1 , , .522 , , – , , .868 , , 2.3 , , 7.4 , , 1.9 , , .0 , , 20.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , – , , 32.2 , , .484 , , – , , .883 , , 2.2 , , 4.9 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 36.5 , , .493 , , – , , .907 , , 2.5 , , 7.3 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 33.7 , , .490 , , – , , .886 , , 2.1 , , 4.7 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 17.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , – , , 38.2 , , .491 , , – , , .918 , , 2.2 , , 3.4 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 25.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 35.9 , , .496 , , – , , .928 , , 2.1 , , 4.3 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 20.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , – , , 35.2 , , .493 , , .040 , , .897 , , 2.0 , , 3.9 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , – , , 26.5 , , .492 , , .235 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .958*, , 1.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .427 , , .063 , , .909 , , 1.0 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .0 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 0 , , 22.2 , , .447 , , .286 , , .920 , , 1.2 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .1 , , 12.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,002 , , – , , 30.5 , , .482 , , .139 , , .892 , , 2.1 , , 4.4 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 17.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .600 , , – , , – , , 1.0 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 8, , –, , 38.1, , .462, , –, , .895, , 2.4, , 5.6, , 1.8, , .1, , 24.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 12, , –, , 35.0, , .479, , –, , .933, , 1.6, , 6.3, , 1.6, , .2, , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 2, , –, , 36.5, , .290, , –, , .889, , 1.5, , 3.0, , 4.0, , .5, , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 7, , –, , 37.9, , .537, , .500, , 1.000, , 1.4, , 3.7, , 1.6, , .0, , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 19, , –, , 28.4, , .495, , .286, , .967, , 1.3, , 3.0, , 1.4, , .0, , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 3, , –, , 19.0, , .227, , .000, , .875, , 1.0, , 1.3, , .3, , .0, , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 51 , , – , , 32.5 , , .475 , , .286 , , .932 , , 1.5 , , 4.2 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 18.5

References

External links

NBA.com: Calvin Murphy Bio
– Murphy's NBA bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Calvin 1948 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Connecticut Houston Rockets assistant coaches Houston Rockets players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association broadcasters National Basketball Association players with retired numbers National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball players Norwalk High School (Connecticut) alumni Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Norwalk, Connecticut 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Early years

College (1967–1970)

NBA (1970–1983)

Post-NBA life

Statistics and accomplishments

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links