Curtis R. Perry (born September 13, 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Born in Washington, D.C., he attended

Southwest Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

(now known as Missouri State) and played at forward. At Missouri State, Perry helped the team to a school record 28 consecutive wins. Perry was selected 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 ...

in the third round 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 ...

and by the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, ...

in the 1970 American Basketball Association Draft. Perry played for the NBA's San Diego / Houston Rockets (1970–71),

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 ...

(1971–74) and Phoenix Suns (1974–78). In his rookie season with San Diego in 1970–71, he was sent to the Northwest Travellers of the Continental Basketball Association in January 1971 and returned to the Rockets in March. He helped the Bucks win the 1971–72 and 1972–73 NBA Midwest Division titles, and the 1973–74 NBA Western Conference championship. He also helped the Phoenix Suns win the 1975–76 NBA Western Conference championship. On February 15, 1975, Perry scored 26 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds in a 111-107 loss against 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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. In the 1976 Finals, Perry was a key player in "the greatest game ever played" in NBA history. In 8 NBA seasons, Perry played in 480 games and had 13,656 minutes played, a .455 field goal percentage (1,904 for 4,188), .699 free throw percentage (770 for 1,101), 4,239 rebounds, 906 assists, 1,670 personal fouls and 4,578 points. He averaged 9.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He was inducted into the Missouri State athletic Hall of Fame in 1980.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1970–71 , 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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, 18 , , - , , 5.6 , , .438 , , - , , .550 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , - , , - , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , 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 i ...

, 25 , , - , , 14.2 , , .330 , , - , , .500 , , 4.9 , , 0.9 , , - , , - , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , 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 ...

, 50 , , - , , 29.4 , , .385 , , - , , .674 , , 9.4 , , 1.6 , , - , , - , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , 1972–73 , align="left" ,

, 67 , , - , , 31.3 , , .461 , , - , , .659 , , 9.6 , , 1.8 , , - , , - , , 9.1 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 29.5 , , .446 , , - , , .582 , , 8.7 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 79 , , - , , 34.0 , , .477 , , - , , .719 , , 11.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 71 , , - , , 33.1 , , .497 , , - , , .732 , , 9.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 13.3 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 44 , , - , , 31.6 , , .432 , , - , , .789 , , 9.0 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 45 , , - , , 18.2 , , .453 , , - , , .785 , , 5.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 480 , , - , , 28.5 , , .455 , , - , , .699 , , 8.8 , , 1.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 9.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

, 11 , , - , , 36.1 , , .473 , , - , , .783 , , 12.8 , , 1.3 , , - , , - , , 9.5 , - , align="left" , 1972–73 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , - , , 39.7 , , .481 , , - , , .500 , , 11.5 , , 2.2 , , - , , - , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , - , , 18.5 , , .500 , , - , , .583 , , 5.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 6.2 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;" , 19* , , - , , 32.4 , , .454 , , - , , .647 , , 7.7 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 12.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 52 , , - , , 29.7 , , .470 , , - , , .661 , , 8.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 9.6

Personal life

Perry is the father of former NBA player

Byron Houston Byron Dwight Houston (born November 22, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'5", 250-pound power forward, he played collegiately for Oklahoma State University and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (27t ...

and has a daughter named Leslie Hardin. (1970).Ex-OSU cager to spend time behind bars
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Curtis 1948 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Houston Rockets players Milwaukee Bucks players Missouri State Bears basketball players New Orleans Jazz expansion draft picks Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players Virginia Squires draft picks 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople