Matthew George Guokas Sr. ( ; November 11, 1915 – December 9, 1993) 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 and broadcaster. He was the son of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n immigrants. A

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 ...

from

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

, Guokas played one season with the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

of the BAA (a precursor to the NBA). He averaged 1.7 points during the Warriors' 1946–47 championship season. After losing his right leg in an automobile accident, Guokas turned to broadcasting, and he served as an announcer for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

from 1953 to 1985. He was also the public address announcer for Philadelphia Phillies baseball games at Connie Mack Stadium in 1965 to 1966, succeeding the late Pete Byron, and replaced by Eddie Ferenz. His son Matt Guokas Jr. played in the NBA from 1966 to 1976, and later coached the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

and

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

and worked as a broadcaster for the

NBA on NBC The ''NBA on NBC'' is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1955 to 1962 and again from 1990 (when it obta ...

and other sports networks. Guokas and his son, Matt Jr., were the first father-son duo to both win

NBA championships The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

as players; this feat has since been repeated by the Barrys (

Rick Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

and Brent), the Waltons (

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

), the Thompsons ( Mychal and

Klay KLAY (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk/sports radio, sports information format. Located in Lakewood, Washington, Lakewood, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, United States, the station serves the Tacoma, Wa ...

), and the Paytons (

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

and Gary II).

BAA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guokas, Matt Sr. 1915 births 1993 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Lithuanian descent Basketball players from Philadelphia National Football League announcers Philadelphia Eagles announcers Philadelphia Warriors players Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Wilkes-Barre Barons players