Julian Crifton Hammond (May 27, 1943 – October 8, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. A small forward, Hammond played for the Denver Rockets of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

from 1967 to 1971.

Career

Hammond graduated from DuSable High School in Chicago, Illinois. He played for the school's basketball team, but was a

bench player In team sports, substitution (or interchange) is replacing one player with another during a match. Substitute players that are not in the starting lineup (also known as bench players, backups, interchange, or reserves) reside on the bench and ar ...

throughout his four years at DuSable. A small forward, Hammond began his college basketball career at Parsons Junior College. After two years at Parsons, he transferred to the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

to continue his college basketball career with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. He was among the first group of black basketball players at Tulsa. During the 1965–66 season, Hammond led the National Collegiate Athletic Association in field goal percentage by making 65.9 percent (172 for 261) of his shot attempts, missing the record of 66.0 percent. The

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

of the National Basketball Association (NBA) selected Hammond in the 1966 NBA draft. Hammond did not sign with the Lakers, instead signing with the Denver Rockets of the

(ABA) in September 1967 as one of the franchise's first free agent signings. After three seasons with Denver, Hammond became a free agent, and he signed a two-year contract to stay with the Rockets. The Rockets waived Hammond in December 1971. Playing with the Rockets from the 1967–68 to 1971–72 seasons, Hammond averaged 10.8 points and 6.2

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

on 51 percent shooting in 329

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

Personal life

After retiring from the ABA, Hammond settled in Denver. He worked for

Mountain Bell Qwest Corporation is a former Regional Bell Operating Company owned by Lumen Technologies. It was formerly named U S WEST Communications, Inc. from 1991 to 2000, and also formerly named Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1911 t ...

for 31 years. He then worked as an usher at the Pepsi Center during

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

games for 14 years. Hammond's son, Julian II, played college basketball for the Loyola Marymount Lions. His grandson, Julian III, plays college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes. Hammond died in Centennial, Colorado, on October 8, 2022, at age 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Julian 1943 births 2022 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Businesspeople from Colorado Denver Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball players