Spencer Haywood

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Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Gold	1968 Mexico City	Basketball

Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949 in Silver City, Mississippi) is a former pro basketball player.

At the age of 19, Haywood was the leader scorer on the USA's gold medal winning basketball team during the 1968 Olympics. At the University of Detroit, Haywood led the NCAA in rebounding with a 19.5 average per game while scoring 32.1 points per game during the 1968-69 season. He decided to turn pro after his sophomore year, but National Basketball Association (NBA) rules (which then required a player to wait until his class graduated) prohibited him from entering the league. As a result, he joined the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Haywood was named both the ABA Rookie of the Year and ABA MVP in his rookie season (1969-70), leading the league in scoring and rebounding, and becoming the youngest ever recipient of the award at the age of 21. His 19.5 rebound per game average is the all-time highest in ABA history. Haywood also won the ABA's All-Star Game MVP that same year.

In 1970, after forcing his way into the NBA through legal action, Haywood joined the Seattle SuperSonics. He was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1972 and 1973 and the All-NBA Second Team in 1974 and 1975. Haywood's 29.2 points per game in the 1972-73 season and 13.4 rebounds per game in 1973-74 are still the single-season record averages for the SuperSonics for these categories. Overall, during his five seasons with Seattle, Haywood averaged 24.9 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game.

In 1975, the Supersonics traded him to the New York Knicks where he teamed with Bob McAdoo. Haywood later played for the New Orleans Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, and Washington Bullets. He earned a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1979-80 season.

He was previously married to Somali supermodel Iman.