Michael Allen Bantom (born December 3, 1951) 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"

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Bantom won a silver medal at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

as a member of the

United States national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

, who lost a controversial final game to the Soviet Union. He was selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

with the eighth pick of the 1973 NBA draft, and he embarked upon a nine-year NBA (1973–82) career as a member of the Suns,

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

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, ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. He earned All-Rookie Team honors and ended his NBA career with 8,568 total points, 4,517 total

rebounds '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 ...

, and 1,623 total assists. From 1982 until 1989, Bantom played professionally in Italy. Since retiring as a player, Bantom has served as the licensing manager for NBA International, the NBA International director of marketing, the NBA senior vice president of player development, and the executive vice president of referee operations.Mike Bantom selected as new VP
/ref> Bantom is a father of four children, three daughters and a son.

References

External links

*
Bantom's Italian League Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bantom, Mike 1951 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Philadelphia Indiana Pacers players Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Mens Sana Basket players National Basketball Association league office executives New York Nets players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players Seattle SuperSonics players United States men's national basketball team players