William Bedford (born December 14, 1963) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round (6th pick overall) of the 1986 NBA draft after playing 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 ...

(now known as the University of Memphis). Bedford, a 7'0"

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, played for the Suns,

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 L ...

and the

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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in six NBA seasons, averaging 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in his career.

NBA career

Originally projected as a star player, Bedford's NBA career was marred by drug use, and he missed the 1988-89 NBA season as a result. As a member of the Pistons, on November 6, 1990 in a game against the

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 ...

, Bedford set an NBA record for fewest minutes played in a game with three or more three-pointers made, shooting 3-of-3 from deep in a single minute. These were three of five total three-pointers he made in 60 games during the

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, and of seven overall in his career.

Post-NBA and legal troubles

His drug problems continued after he left the NBA. He was arrested for drug possession twice between 1996 and 1997. In 2001, Bedford was accused of transporting 25 pounds of marijuana in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. After the Michigan arrest, he was arrested two more times for marijuana, and in 2003 was given a 10-year prison sentence. Bedford was released from prison in November 2011. As of 2012, he was coaching basketball in Memphis.

Career statistics

Source

NBA

Regular season

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Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

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, 42 , , 0 , , 5.9 , , .432 , , .167 , , .409 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .4 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 4 , , 9.4 , , .438 , , .385 , , .705 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .0 , , .6 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 8 , , 11.3 , , .413 , , .000 , , .636 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , .6 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 16 , , 0 , , 4.1 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .500 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 238 , , 30 , , 10.6 , , .416 , , .318 , , .605 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , .5 , , 4.1

Playoffs

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, 5 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .167 , , – , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .0 , , .0 , , .2 , , .8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

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, 8 , , 3 , , 8.1 , , .208 , , .000 , , .643 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .5 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992 , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .500 , , – , , – , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 14 , , 3 , , 6.8 , , .250 , , .000 , , .688 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.1

Notes

External links

NBA stats
at basketballreference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, William 1963 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American drug traffickers American men's basketball players American people convicted of drug offenses American sportspeople convicted of crimes Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons players Grand Rapids Hoops players Memphis Tigers men's basketball players Oklahoma City Cavalry players Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players San Antonio Spurs players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople