Paul Walther
Personal information
Born(1927-03-23)March 23, 1927
Covington, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedDecember 21, 2014(2014-12-21) (aged 87)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolCovington Catholic
(Park Hills, Kentucky)
CollegeTennessee (1944–1949)
NBA draft1949: -- round, --
Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers
Playing career1949–1955
PositionGuard / small forward
Number14, 5
Career history
1949Minneapolis Lakers
1949–1953Indianapolis Olympians
1953–1954Philadelphia Warriors
1954–1955Fort Wayne Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points2,838 (7.7 ppg)
Rebounds1,168 (3.7 rpg)
Assists974 (2.6 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Paul P. Walther (March 23, 1927 – December 21, 2014) was an American basketball player.

Life

Walther was a native of Covington, Kentucky and a graduate of Covington Catholic High School.[1][2] He was a 6'2" guard/forward at the University of Tennessee, where he was coached by Emmett Lowery. His playing career was split by World War II, when he served in the United States Navy.[3] He was team captain at Tennessee during 1948–49, his final season there.[3]

Walther played six seasons (1949–1955) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers, Indianapolis Olympians, Philadelphia Warriors, and Fort Wayne Pistons. He averaged 7.7 points per game in his career and appeared in the 1952 NBA All-Star Game.[4]

After his basketball career, Walther worked 32 years for Merrill Lynch in Chicago.[3]

Walther died in Atlanta at the age of 87.[5]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1949–50 Minneapolis 22 - .400 .524 - .5 3.4
1949–50 Indianapolis 31 - .390 .591 - 1.5 7.0
1950–51 Indianapolis 63 - .336 .694 3.6 3.6 9.1
1951–52 Indianapolis 55 34.6 .401 .750 4.5 2.5 12.2
1952–53 Indianapolis 67 36.8 .352 .746 4.2 3.1 10.7
1953–54 Philadelphia 64 32.3 .352 .704 4.0 3.4 6.6
1954–55 Fort Wayne 68 12.1 .348 .614 2.3 1.9 2.4
Career 370 28.6 .362 .708 3.7 2.6 7.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1950 Indianapolis 6 - .293 .474 - 1.3 5.5
1951 Indianapolis 3 - .429 .733 1.7 3.0 5.7
1952 Indianapolis 2 42.5 .500 .889 3.5 3.0 16.0
1953 Indianapolis 2 37.5 .250 .941 4.0 2.0 13.0
1955 Fort Wayne 10 9.5 .545 .611 2.0 .8 3.5
Career 23 18.2 .377 .724 2.4 1.5 6.2

References

  1. ^ "Covington Native, NBA All Star Dies". December 24, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Paul Walther". draftexpress.com. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Former player Paul Walther dies at 87". ESPN. Associated Press. December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "Paul Walther". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  5. ^ "Paul Walther, basketball All-American for UT, dies at 87". Knox News.com. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
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