Eddie Lee Wilkins (born May 7, 1962) is an American former

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. A 6'10" forward/

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 Gardner-Webb University, Wilkins played in six NBA seasons for the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Early life

Wilkins graduated from Cass High School in

Cartersville, Georgia Cartersville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,187. Cartersville is the county seat of Bartow Coun ...

College career

Wilkins 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 Gardner-Webb University where he averaged 18.7 points during his career. During his junior season, he averaged 24.8 points per game. In 1991, he was inducted into Gardner-Webb Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Following his college career, Wilkins was selected by the New York Knicks in the sixth round (133rd pick overall) of the 1984 NBA draft. In his debut, he scored a NBA career high 24 points. During his rookie season, he averaged 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He missed the entire 1985–1986 season with torn knee ligaments. Wilkins started the 1986–1987 season with

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

in Spain where he averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds before returning to the United States and signing with

Rockford Lightning The Rockford Lightning was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association. They were based in Rockford, Illinois. History The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red Roses fro ...

. In February 1987, he signed back with the Knicks. On November 15, 1990, he scored 20 points in 20 minutes against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. When

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

came to New York, Wilkins was released. He went to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for one season (1991–92, joining Ranger Varese), before returning to the NBA the next season, signing a 2-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Towards the end of the 1992-93 season, on April 15, 1993, the Sixers were playing the Orlando Magic, who were led by rookie Shaquille O'Neal. On a rebound attempt, Wilkins and O'Neal collided and became entangled. Wilkins tore his

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

, missing the remainder of the season. His career was effectively ended. In his NBA career, Wilkins played in 322 games and scored a total of 1,534 points.

Personal life

His youngest son Evan Wilkins, better known by his stage name Ev Young is a singer-songwriter. In 1989, he established the Eddie Lee Wilkins Foundation, which later became the Eddie Lee Wilkins Youth Association. With the help of program director David Archer, Jr., Wilkins and the association began providing athletic and social intervention activities for youth in the Cartersville and

North Georgia North Georgia is the northern hilly/mountainous region in the U.S. state of Georgia. At the time of the arrival of settlers from Europe, it was inhabited largely by the Cherokee. The counties of north Georgia were often scenes of important eve ...

area. Wilkins currently runs a youth basketball league in Smyrna, Georgia for youth boys ages 4 – 6.

References

External links

Stats
at

basketball Reference Sports Reference, LLC, is an American company which operates several sports-related websites, including Sports-Reference.com, Baseball-Reference.com for baseball, Basketball-Reference.com for basketball, Hockey-Reference.com for ice hockey, Pro ...

Eddie Lee Wilkins foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Eddie Lee 1962 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) CB Valladolid players Centers (basketball) Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball players Liga ACB players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Pallacanestro Varese players People from Cartersville, Georgia Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Quad City Thunder players Rockford Lightning players Savannah Spirits players American men's basketball players Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople