Charles Washington Criss Jr. (born November 6, 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 born in

Valhalla, New York Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name was in ...

. A 5'8"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

from

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

, Criss began his professional career in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

, earning league Most Valuable Player honors with the Scranton Apollos in 1976, next playing for the

Washington Generals The Washington Generals are an United States, American basketball team who play Exhibition game, exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters. The team has also played under several different Pseudonym, aliases in their history as the Globetr ...

. Extinct Sports Leagues - Continental Basketball Association (1946 - present)
/ref> He joined the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

of 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 ...

the following year, and played eight seasons in the league with the Hawks,

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

.Stats at Basketball-Reference
/ref> When he entered the NBA, Criss was the league's shortest active player.
/ref> In his NBA career, Criss averaged 8.5 points and 3.2

assists per game In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads directly to a score by field goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the basket. An assist is also credited when a basket is awarded due ...

, his best year being his first, posting averages of 11 points and 4 assists in 77 matches. Since retiring as a player, he worked as a golf instructor, an Atlanta Hawks television

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

, a minor-league basketball coach and a basketball summer camp coordinator.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 77 , , - , , 25.1 , , .425 , , - , , .797 , , 1.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 11.4 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 54 , , - , , 16.3 , , .377 , , - , , .779 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 22.1 , , .431 , , .059 , , .811 , , 1.4 , , 3.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 66 , , - , , 25.9 , , .454 , , .048 , , .864 , , 1.5 , , 4.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 9.5 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 0 , , 20.4 , , .400 , , .250 , , .890 , , 1.4 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , 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 ...

, 28 , , 20 , , 30.0 , , .479 , , .381 , , .884 , , 1.6 , , 4.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 66 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .451 , , .194 , , .895 , , 1.2 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 6.2 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 17.8 , , .367 , , .167 , , .636 , , 1.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .409 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 2 , , 28.8 , , .412 , , .000 , , .667 , , 3.5 , , 5.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 418 , , 22 , , 21.4 , , .432 , , .179 , , .831 , , 1.4 , , 3.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 8.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , - , , 32.5 , , .417 , , - , , .778 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 13.5 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , - , , 11.0 , , .414 , , - , , .900 , , 0.6 , , 1.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , - , , 30.4 , , .492 , , .333 , , .917 , , 1.0 , , 4.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , - , , 12.9 , , .441 , , .000 , , .944 , , 1.6 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , - , , 17.3 , , .452 , , .250 , , .898 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 7.1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Criss, Charlie 1948 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players Albuquerque Silvers players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from New York (state) Hartford Capitols players Lancaster Lightning players Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association broadcasters New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players NMJC Thunderbirds men's basketball players People from Valhalla, New York Point guards San Diego Clippers players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Washington Generals players

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links