John Kenneth Spain (October 6, 1946 – October 11, 1990) was an American 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.
Spain was selected by 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 ...
's
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
with the 20th overall pick in the
1969 NBA Draft
The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...
and by the
Oakland Oaks in the 1969 ABA Draft. He played in eleven
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, ...
games during the 1970-71 season for the
Pittsburgh Condors
The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...
.
A 6'9"
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
, Spain 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 ...
at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
with
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 ...
from 1966-1969. Spain graduated from
Austin High School in Houston.
[Distinguished HISD Alumni]
." ''Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...
''. Accessed October 11, 2008.
Spain died of cancer at age 44 in Houston, Texas.
References
External links
*
Career NBA stats@ basketball-reference.com
Career NCAA stats@ thedraftreview.com
*
1946 births
1990 deaths
American men's basketball players
Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Houston
Centers (basketball)
Chicago Bulls draft picks
Delaware Blue Bombers players
Houston Cougars men's basketball players
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Oakland Oaks draft picks
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Pittsburgh Condors players
United States men's national basketball team players
Wilmington Blue Bombers players
{{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub