Larry Joe Kenon (born December 13, 1952) 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. A 6'9"

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who had a productive career in both 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, ...

(ABA) and 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 ...

(NBA), Kenon played for the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

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 (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

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 ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. His nicknames were "Mr. K" (to go with Nets teammate "Dr. J.",

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

) and "Special K."

College

Kenon transferred from

Amarillo College Amarillo College (AC) is a public community college in Amarillo, Texas. It enrolls over 10,000 students and was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of October 2005. As defined by the ...

to play basketball at

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, 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 ...

. In his junior year, 1972–73, he averaged 20.1 points and 16.7 rebounds per game and led the Tigers to the NCAA championship game, where they were defeated by the

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 ...

-led

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). ...

. After that season, one in which he was named

Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Missouri Valley Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1968–69 season. It was renamed ...

, Kenon left Memphis State and turned pro.

ABA career

In 1973, the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

selected Kenon in the third round (15th pick overall) of the NBA draft. He was also drafted by the

Memphis Tams Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

of the ABA, but the New York Nets secured his draft rights. During his 1973–74 rookie season, Kenon averaged 15.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game on the

-led Nets team that won the 1974 ABA Championship. After averaging 18.7 points during the 1974–75 season, Kenon was traded to San Antonio for

Swen Nater Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA ...

. Once again he averaged 18.7 points, along with 11.1 rebounds per game in the Spurs' final season in the ABA before they joined the NBA with the Nets,

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 ...

and

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. Kenon made the All-Star Team in each of his three ABA seasons, and competed in the first-ever

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

during the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. In 249 ABA games, Kenon had scored 4,419 points and grabbed 2,759 rebounds for an average of 17.7 and 11.1 per game, respectively.

NBA career

Kenon enjoyed the best years of his career in San Antonio playing alongside

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

. In each of the four seasons they were teammates after the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

, both averaged at least 20 points per game. In those four NBA seasons, Kenon averaged 21.9 ( 1976–77), 20.6 ( 1977–78), 22.1 ( 1978–79) and 20.1 ( 1979–80) points per game. He also made the NBA All-Star team in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He also averaged at least 10.7 rebounds per game in each of those four seasons, his high being 12.0 in 1976–77. After the 1979–80 season Kenon signed with the Chicago Bulls. While his minutes per game went down in Chicago (28.1 during the 1980–81 season; he had never averaged fewer than 34.6 previously), he averaged 14.1 points per game; however, this would be his last effective season. In his seven NBA seasons, Kenon played 503 games and scored 8535 points for a 17.0 average. His NBA and ABA totals were 12,954 points for a 17.2 average.

Other accomplishments

*In a December 26, 1976 game against the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

Kemper Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

, which San Antonio won 110-105, Kenon set an NBA record for steals in a game with eleven. (The

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Kendall Gill Kendall Cedric Gill (born May 25, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who now works as a television basketball analyst. Early life Gill was born in Chicago and attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinois. ...

tied the record in an April 3, 1999 game against the

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

.) He also recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds for a rare points-rebounds-steals

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

. *The

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, 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 ...

has retired Kenon's number 35. He arguably had the most successful pro career of any Memphis basketball player, with his primary competitors for that honor being

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted ...

and

Anfernee Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

Personal life

Kenon converted to the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

faith after retiring from basketball; he now goes by the name of Muhsin Kenon.1971-1975 3rd-4th Round Rundown
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ABA and NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;", † , style="text-align:left;", New York (ABA) , 84 , , - , , 34.6 , , .462 , , .000 , , .703 , , 11.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left", , style="text-align:left;", New York (ABA) , 84 , , - , , 37.7 , , .509 , , .500 , , .770 , , 10.7 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", San Antonio (ABA) , 81 , , - , , 36.0 , , .481 , , .000 , , .781 , , 11.1 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 78 , , - , , 37.6 , , .492 , , - , , .823 , , 11.3 , , 2.9 , , 2.1 , , 0.8 , , 21.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , - , , 35.4 , , .489 , , - , , .854 , , 9.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , - , , 36.4 , , .504 , , - , , .845 , , 9.8 , , 4.1 , , 1.9 , , 0.2 , , 22.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , - , , 35.9 , , .485 , , .111 , , .783 , , 9.9 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 20.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 77 , , - , , 28.1 , , .480 , , - , , .735 , , 5.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 60 , , 30 , , 17.3 , , .466 , , - , , .568, , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .333 , , - , , .800 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 11 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .436 , , - , , .636 , , 2.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 32 , , 7 , , 19.5 , , .472 , , .000 , , .761 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 7.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 752 , , 37 , , 32.6 , , .487 , , .143 , , .784 , , 8.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 17.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;",

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

† , style="text-align:left;", New York (ABA) , 14 , , - , , 33.6 , , .495 , , - , , .613 , , 11.6 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York (ABA) , 5 , , - , , 39.8 , , .534 , , - , , .765 , , 12.8 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 21.4 , - , 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 Phila ...

, style="text-align:left;", San Antonio (ABA) , 7 , , - , , 39.6 , , .466 , , .333 , , .900 , , 11.4 , , 2.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

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

, 2 , , - , , 39.5 , , .485 , , - , , 1.000 , , 7.5 , , 3.0 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;,

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

, 6 , , - , , 33.3 , , .447 , , - , , .737 , , 9.2 , , 3.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;,

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

, 14 , , - , , 39.8 , , .438 , , - , , .736 , , 11.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 21.1 , - , style="text-align:left;,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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

, 3 , , - , , 27.0 , , .294 , , - , , .545 , , 4.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

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

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 6 , , - , , 19.0 , , .391 , , .000 , , .500 , , 4.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 6.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 57 , , - , , 34.7 , , .459 , , .250 , , .725 , , 10.1 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 17.2

References

External links

NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenon, Larry 1952 births Living people African-American basketball players Amarillo Badgers men's basketball players American men's basketball players American Muslims Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers players Converts to Islam Detroit Pistons draft picks Golden State Warriors players Memphis Tigers men's basketball players National Basketball Association All-Stars New York Nets players Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Wyoming Wildcatters players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

College

ABA career

NBA career

Other accomplishments

Personal life

ABA and NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links