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Darrall Imhoff



Position: Center
Full Name: Darrall Tucker Imhoff
Nickname: Big D
Born: October 11, 1938 in San Gabriel, California
Height: 6-10
Weight: 220
High School: Alhambra in Alhambra, California
College: University of California, Berkeley
Drafted: 1st Round, 3rd Pick - New York Knicks, 1960
Jersey#: 14

Played for the Lakers from 1965 to 1968


Imhoff spent twelve seasons in the NBA (1960-72), playing for half-a-dozen teams. Imhoff was the starting center on the New York Knicks, when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points on them.

At the University of California, Berkeley, Imhoff was a two-time All-American and was the top rebounder on the 1959 NCAA championship team and hit the winning basket with just seventeen seconds to go. He was the leading scorer and rebounder on the 1960 NCAA runner-up Berkeley team and was a part of the gold-medal 1960 Olympic basketball team.

As a collegian, Imhoff was feared as a shot blocker, and was a respected rebounder who was the hub around which coach Pete Newell built his NCAA champion University of California team. The Golden Bears edged Jerry West's West Virginia team in 1959, with Imhoff rated by some the best college player in the country. In 1960, leading the nation's top-rated defense from his center spot, the 6'10 235-pounder led UCal back to the NCAA Finals before losing to Jerry Lucas and Ohio State. He was a two-time First Team All-American. Imhoff was a senior awaiting entry into the National Basketball Association in 1960 when coach Pete Newell, now the U.S. Olympic coach, added his prize player to the Olympic roster. Playing behind Lucas, and Indiana's Walt Bellamy, Imhoff still saw action during the Rome Games as the Americans usually jetted out to a big lead early and then rested their starters. That Olympic team is still rated by many the finest amateur basketball team ever assembled to this day. Imhoff was the most highly publicized draft pick of the NBA that same year. The New York Knickerbockers, picking second overall, made him their first pick, a move which generated much excitement for the team. The Knicks had two all-stars already, Rich Guerin and Willie Naulls, and looked for Imhoff to complete a potential contender in the league's largest city. Imhoff unfortunately, was not up to the pressure and had a season which fell well below hopes. Depressed and disappointed, he was the second backup center by season's end. Improving enough to be main backup center his second year did not help his team in the tough NBA East, so he signed with Detroit in 1962. Imhoff's lack of quickness and shooting skills at the NBA level had been exposed, but he never quit working to improve. He began to see more minutes with the Pistons until he was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1964. On a star-studded team that included Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and others, Imhoff was now a respected reserve. He contributed solidly to a team that won the NBA West and made it to the NBA Finals in 1965. The Lakers were encouraged enough to start Imhoff the next season, again winning their division, but were Finals runner-up again. Imhoff again proved not ready. Finally, in the 1966-67 season, Imhoff hit some of his potential, averaging 12 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks per game as a Laker starter. He made the NBA All-Star team as a reserve. Imhoff was among the 1967's top rebounders and shot blockers in the league. But he was still being badly outplayed by Boston's Bill Russell in the NBA Finals, a fact which repeated itself in 1968. This fact spurred the Lakers to sign Wilt Chamberlain that year, and Imhoff was traded to Philadelphia where he was again a solid backup center. The 76ers were second in the East, but were knocked out by Boston and Russell again. Imhoff was a starter again for the 1969-70 campaign and Philadelphia made it to the playoffs before losing to Milwaukee and Lew Alcindor. He had one more decent season as the backup center for Cincinnati before finishing his career at the end of Portland's bench in 1972. Imhoff will always be remembered as one of pro basketball's biggest flops or the guy who was guarding Jerry Lucas, Bill Russell, or Wilt Chamberlain as those players achieved success. But Imhoff was an outstanding college All-American who led an NCAA champion, an Olympian, and a player who overcame remarkable hype and limitations to still have a decent 12-year NBA career.



Regular Season Stats


YEAR TEAM G MIN FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT 3PM 3PA PCT REB RPG AST PF STL TO BLK PTS PPG
1961 NYK 62 994 122 310 .394 49 96 .510 0 0 - 296 4.8 51 143 0 0 0 293 4.7
1962 NYK 76 1481 186 482 .386 80 139 .576 0 0 - 470 6.2 82 230 0 0 0 452 5.9
1963 DET 45 458 48 153 .314 24 50 .480 0 0 - 155 3.4 28 66 0 0 0 120 2.7
1964 DET 58 871 104 251 .414 69 114 .605 0 0 - 283 4.9 56 167 0 0 0 277 4.8
1965 LAL 76 1521 145 311 .466 88 154 .571 0 0 - 500 6.6 87 238 0 0 0 378 5.0
1966 LAL 77 1413 151 337 .448 77 136 .566 0 0 - 509 6.6 113 234 0 0 0 379 4.9
1967 LAL 81 2725 370 780 .474 127 207 .614 0 0 - 1080 13.3 222 281 0 0 0 867 10.7
1968 LAL 82 2271 293 613 .478 177 286 .619 0 0 - 893 10.9 206 264 0 0 0 763 9.3
1969 PHI 82 2360 279 593 .470 194 325 .597 0 0 - 792 9.7 218 310 0 0 0 752 9.2
1970 PHI 79 2474 430 796 .540 215 331 .650 0 0 - 754 9.5 211 294 0 0 0 1075 13.6
1971 CIN 34 826 119 258 .461 37 73 .507 0 0 - 233 6.9 79 120 0 0 0 275 8.1
1972 CIN 9 76 10 29 .345 3 8 .375 0 0 - 27 3.0 2 22 0 0 0 23 2.6
1972 TOT 49 480 52 132 .394 24 43 .558 0 0 - 134 2.7 52 98 0 0 0 128 2.6
1972 POR 40 404 42 103 .408 21 35 .600 0 0 - 107 2.7 50 76 0 0 0 105 2.6
CAREER 801 17874 2299 5016 .458 1161 1954 .594 0 0 - 6099 7.6 1405 2445 0 0 0 5759 7.2


Playoff Stats


YEAR TEAM G MIN FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT 3PM 3PA PCT REB RPG AST PF STL TO BLK PTS PPG
1963 DET 1 2 0 0 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1965 LAL 11 151 13 24 .542 7 12 .583 0 0 - 43 3.9 13 26 0 0 0 33 3.0
1966 LAL 14 243 14 40 .350 13 18 .722 0 0 - 81 5.8 30 42 0 0 0 41 2.9
1967 LAL 3 86 13 24 .542 4 5 .800 0 0 - 37 12.3 5 8 0 0 0 30 10.0
1968 LAL 15 440 44 89 .494 26 51 .510 0 0 - 163 10.9 30 56 0 0 0 114 7.6
1969 PHI 5 191 33 66 .500 25 38 .658 0 0 - 82 16.4 12 24 0 0 0 91 18.2
1970 PHI 5 138 22 48 .458 1 7 .143 0 0 - 35 7.0 11 23 0 0 0 45 9.0
CAREER 54 1251 139 291 .478 76 131 .580 0 0 - 442 8.2 101 179 0 0 0 354 6.6