David William Meyers (April 21, 1953 – October 9, 2015) 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 who played for the

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 ...

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 St ...

(NBA). The forward played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

. He was an All-American as a senior in 1975, when he won his second national championship with UCLA. He was drafted in the first 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 ...

with the second overall pick, and played four years professionally with the Bucks.

Early life

Born in

San Diego, California 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 Stat ...

, Meyers was one of 11 children (six girls, five boys) of Bob and Pat Meyers. Bob was a standout basketball player at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

and was the Warriors' captain in 1944–45. Meyers attended high school at

Sonora High School Sonora High School (SOHS) is a public high school located at 401 S. Palm Street in La Habra, north Orange County, California. One of seven high schools in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Sonora served over 1,944 students in the 2 ...

La Habra, California La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north o ...

. As a senior, he averaged 22.7 points per game in leading the Raiders to the Orange League title and, in the postseason, the California Southern Section AA championship. Meyers was named AA Player of the Year.

College career

As a sophomore in 1972–73, Meyers played a backup role on the

UCLA Bruins men's basketball The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Coach John W ...

team, averaging 4.9 points per game, sixth on the team, and 2.9 rebounds. UCLA won the Pac-8 title, went 30–0 and captured the 1973 NCAA championship with an 87–66 win over

Memphis State } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

. Meyers recorded four points and three rebounds in the championship game. As a junior in 1973–74, Meyers became a starter on a front line with future Hall of Famers

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

and

Jamaal Wilkes Jamaal Abdul-Lateef (born Jackson Keith Wilkes; May 2, 1953), better known as Jamaal Wilkes, is an American former basketball player who was a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star, he won four NBA ...

. Meyers averaged 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds. In 1974–75, with Walton and Wilkes graduated, the Bruins reloaded and Meyers was the senior starter on a front line with two sophomores and future All-Americans

Marques Johnson Marques Kevin Johnson (born February 8, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Associat ...

and

Richard Washington Richard Lee Washington (born July 15, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life A 6'11" center born in Portland, Oregon, Washington played high school ball at Portland's Benson Tech. An all-around athlete and agile ...

. Meyers led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 18.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game with a .484 field goal percentage. He won the John Wooden Award as UCLA's Most Valuable Player, and he was a consensus first-team All-American. The Bruins went 28–3 and won the NCAA championship in the 1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament, the team's 10th in a 12-year span, with a 92–85 win over

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Meyers recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game. Meyers appeared on the cover of

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

in 1975 with the headline "UCLA Still Best in the West." He was inducted into the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in March 2015.

NBA career

Meyers was the second overall pick in the

by the Los Angeles Lakers. Nineteen days later, Meyers, along with

Elmore Smith Elmore Smith (born May 9, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player born in Macon, Georgia. A 7'0" center from Kentucky State University, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1971 to 1979. He was a member ...

Junior Bridgeman Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman (born September 17, 1953) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball League (NBA) for twelve years from 1975 until 1987, beginning with the Milw ...

, and

Brian Winters Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach. Career Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1970. He then played collegia ...

, was traded to the

in exchange for

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

and

Walt Wesley Walter Wesley (born January 25, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life Wesley grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, the son of Leroy and Josie Wesley. He attended Dunbar High School in Fort Myers. College career The to ...

. In his rookie season of 1975–76 with the Bucks, Meyers played 72 games and averaged 22.1 minutes per game. He averaged 7.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He posted a then career single-game high of 28 points in just his third NBA game, against the New Orleans Jazz. In 1976–77, Meyers was limited to 52 games, but his playing time increased to over 25 minutes per game, while he averaged 9.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, with a .467 field goal percentage. On April 10, 1977, he set a new personal best of 31 points against 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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. In 1977–78, his third season, Meyers came into his own as a starter and the Bucks, after two losing seasons, rebounded to a 44–38 record. Playing alongside his former UCLA teammate Marques Johnson, Meyers played 80 games and averaged over 30 minutes per game. Meyers posted a career-high 14.7 points per game along with 6.7 rebounds and a career-high 3.0 assists. On November 15, 1977, he upped his single-game scoring personal best to 32 points, against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. Meyers missed the 1978–79 season with a back injury. In the 1979–80 season, he played 79 games and just under 28 minutes per game as the Bucks went 49–33 and won the NBA Midwest Division. Meyers averaged 12.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. After five NBA seasons, on April 30, 1980, Meyers made a surprise announcement that he was retiring from basketball to spend more time with his family and devote more time to his

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

faith.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

, 72 , , – , , 22.1 , , .419 , , –, , .643 , , 6.2 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , – , , 25.2 , , .467 , , –, , .661 , , 6.8 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , – , , 30.2 , , .461 , , – , , .722 , , 6.7 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , – , , 27.9 , , .481 , , .200 , , .634 , , 5.7 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 12.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 281 , , – , , 26.6 , , .461 , , .200 , , .676 , , 6.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 11.2

Playoffs

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

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

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

, 3 , , – , , 18.0 , , .455 , , –, , .824 , , 4.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1978 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , – , , 18.0 , , .444 , , –, , .667 , , 8.2 , , 3.9 , , 0.8 , , 1.2 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1980 , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , – , , 27.9 , , .419 , , .000 , , .467 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.9 , , 9.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 19 , , – , , 27.8 , , .436 , , .000 , , .629 , , 6.5 , , 2.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 10.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1972–73 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , – , , – , , .477 , , – , , .756 , , 2.9 , , – , , – , , – , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1973–74 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , – , , – , , .488 , , – , , .701 , , 5.7 , , – , , – , , – , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1974–75 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , – , , – , , .484 , , – , , .736 , , 7.9 , , 2.6 , , – , , – , , 18.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 89 , , – , , – , , .485 , , – , , .729 , , 5.6 , , 2.6 , , – , , – , , 11.8

Personal life

Meyers married his wife, Linda, in 1975. Their daughter Crystal was born a year later, and son Sean followed three years later. Meyers worked as a sales representative for

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...

and took night classes in education at National University. He received his teaching certificate and, beginning in 1988, for many years he served as an elementary school teacher at Railroad Canyon Elementary School in Lake Elsinore, California. He also served as a basketball instructor, both privately and at camps, primarily for children aged 8–12. Meyers died of cancer in

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corporation, i ...

, on October 9, 2015, at the age of 62. Meyers was the older brother of

Ann Meyers Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional level ...

, who also was an outstanding basketball player as well as the only woman to sign a free agent contract with an NBA team ( Indiana Pacers in 1979).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyers, David 1953 births 2015 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American Jehovah's Witnesses American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Diego Deaths from cancer in California Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Milwaukee Bucks players Power forwards (basketball) UCLA Bruins men's basketball players