Walt Davis

For the triple jumper, see Walter Davis (athlete). For the 1980s basketball player, see Walter Davis (basketball). For other people with similar names, see Walter Davis.

Walt Davis
Davis at the 1952 Olympics
Personal information
Born(1931-01-05)January 5, 1931
Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
DiedNovember 17, 2020(2020-11-17) (aged 89)
Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolNederland (Nederland, Texas)
CollegeTexas A&M (1949–1952)
NBA draft1952: 2nd round, 13th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia Warriors
Playing career1953–1958
PositionPower forward / center
Number12
Career history
1953–1958Philadelphia Warriors
1958St. Louis Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points1,558 (4.8 ppg)
Rebounds1,397 (4.3 rpg)
Assists231 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Athletics
Representing  United States
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki High jump

Walter Francis "Buddy" Davis (January 5, 1931 – November 17, 2020) was an American athlete. After winning a gold medal in the high jump at the 1952 Olympics he became a professional basketball player.[1]

Despite contracting polio at age nine and being unable to walk for three years, Davis had a standout athletic career at Texas A&M University and later won Olympic gold in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, with a leap of 2.04 metres (6 ft 8+1⁄4 in).[1]

The Philadelphia Warriors selected the 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Davis in the second round of the 1952 NBA draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors and St. Louis Hawks, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.[2]

Davis was Inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1964[3] and to the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016.

Davis died on November 17, 2020, in Port Arthur, Texas at age 89.[4]

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
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

NBA

Source[2]

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1953–54 Philadelphia 68 23.1 .367 .644 6.4 .9 5.9
1954–55 Philadelphia 61 12.6 .385 .729 3.4 .6 2.9
1955–56† Philadelphia 70 15.7 .369 .688 3.9 .8 4.6
1956–57 Philadelphia 65 19.2 .407 .698 4.7 .8 6.6
1957–58 Philadelphia 35 10.7 .341 .667 2.5 .5 3.0
1957–58† St. Louis 26 11.0 .357 .776 3.3 .4 4.9
Career 325 16.4 .377 .695 4.3 .7 4.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1956† Philadelphia 10* 6.9 .455 .500 2.8 .3 2.3
1957 Philadelphia 2 18.5 .308 1.000 7.0 .5 6.0
1958† St. Louis 9 7.3 .379 .833 3.0 .3 3.6
Career 21 8.2 .391 .773 3.3 .3 3.2

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walt Davis.
  1. ^ a b Buddy Davis. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ a b "Walt Davis NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Buddy Davis Bio from the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
  4. ^ Murrell, I. C. (November 17, 2020). "Buddy Davis, Olympic & NBA champ from Nederland, dies at 89". The Port Arthur News. Retrieved November 18, 2020.