Ernie Grunfeld

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Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Gold	1976 Montreal	United States

Ernest (Ernie) Grunfeld (born April 24, 1955, in Satu Mare, Romania) is an American former professional basketball player. He served as general manager of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association from 1989 to 1999.

Grunfeld grew up in Forest Hills, in Queens, New York City.

In the summer of 1973, Grunfeld was selected to play on the American team for the Maccabiah Games, the only high school student on the starting five. He led the team in scoring with a 20-point average, but Israel defeated the U.S. in the final 86-80.

Some 200 colleges pusued him. He rejected such major basketball powers as Marquette and Notre Dame, and picked the University of Tennessee because he liked the facilities, the schedule, and the chance it afforded him to become a college star. He starred with fellow New York City native and future NBA star, Bernard King. Together they were dubbed the "Bernie and Ernie Show." In his Sophomore year he had averaged 23.8 points per game; in his junior year, 25.3; and in his senior year, 23.8. Together they averaged over 40 points per game.

Grunfeld played for America's gold-medal-winning team in the Pan American Games in the fall of 1975. His biggest moment in sports came in the summer of 1976 when he helped the U.S. team win the gold medal in the Olympic Games at Montreal. In July of that year Ernie obtained his American Citizenship.

Grunfeld was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, and also played for the Kansas City Kings, as well as for the Knicks.

In 1979 he led the NBA in games played, with 82.

In 1981 he had a .535 field goal percentage.

In 1982 he averaged 12.7 points a game, and 21.8 per 40 minutes.

In 1986 he was 3rd in the NBA in 3-Pt Field Goal %, with .426.

He finished his career with a .477 field goal percentage, and a .770 free throw percentage. His playoff shooting percentage were even better.

After he retired from Pro basketball, Ernie went into sportscasting, and eventually into the front office.

At the time of his removal from his general manager post, during the 1998-1999 season, the team had a 21-21 record and were on the verge of not making the playoffs. They eventually got in with a 27-23 record. He was responsible for bringing every player on the Knicks' current roster to the team except for Patrick Ewing. Before the start of the season, he organized the trade of Charles Oakley to the Toronto Raptors for Marcus Camby, and John Starks to the Golden State Warriors for Latrell Sprewell. Many people blamed him for the Knicks' poor play. However, they came within 3 games of winning the championship, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 5 games. At first it was said that he was being temporarily relieved of his duties as general manager. When the season ended with the result that came about, it was said that all was forgiven and he would be reinstated. However, he took the job as the Bucks' general manager. He held the post for several years, and is now the President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards

Ernie Grunfeld's son, Dan, played for the Stanford University men's basketball team from 2002-2006, and since 2006 for the german basketball team EWE Baskets Oldenburg

[edit] Hall of Fame

In 1987 he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.[1]

In 1993 Grunfeld, who is Jewish, was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[2]

He was also inducted into the PSAL Wingate Fund Hall of Fame.[3]

[edit] External links

• Basketball Reference stats
• Ernie Grunfeld profile @ jewishsportshalloffame.com
• Ernie Grunfeld profile @ NBA.com