Nationality American Role Basketball player Career end 1974 Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Height 1.96 m Education University of Utah | Listed weight 185 lb (84 kg) Weight 84 kg Position Small forward Name Jerry Chambers Career start 1966 | |
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Born July 18, 1943 (age 80)
Washington, D.C. ( 1943-07-18 ) High school Eastern (Washington, D.C.) College Trinidad CC (1962–1964)
University of Utah (1964–1966) NBA draft 1966 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7th overall | ||
Jerry Chambers, 1966 Final Four Most Outstanding Player
Jerome Purcell "Jerry" Chambers (born July 18, 1943) is a retired American professional basketball player. At 6'5" and 185 pounds, he played as a forward.
Chambers attended the University of Utah during the mid-1960s, winning the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award in 1966, despite his Runnin' Utes finishing fourth at the Final Four. He was the only player to ever earn MOP for a fourth-place team, and unless the third-place game is reinstated—it was abolished after the 1981 Final Four—he will remain the only player ever to attain this feat. His 143 points in four games remains an NCAA Tournament record, with 70 of them coming in the Final Four—38 against eventual national champion Texas-Western, and 32 more in the third-place game against Duke.
He played four professional seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, and Buffalo Braves. In 1968, he was involved in one of the most significant transactions in NBA history when the Lakers traded him, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff to the Philadelphia 76ers for Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain. Chambers never played for the 76ers, as they traded him to Phoenix in 1969.
From 1972 to 1974, Chambers played in the rival American Basketball Association as a member of the San Diego Conquistadors and the San Antonio Spurs. He retired with 2,667 combined NBA/ABA career points.