Joe Caldwell

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Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Gold 1964 Tokyo United States

Joe Louis Caldwell (born November 1, 1941 in Texas City, Texas) is a retired American professional basketball player. He spent 6 seasons (1964–1970) in the NBA and 5 seasons (1970-1975) in the now-defunct ABA, and he was one of the few players to be an All-Star in both leagues. He was also a member of the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Nicknamed "Pogo Joe" for his leaping abilities, Caldwell was a 6'5" guard/forward from Arizona State University. Though drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1964, he spent the majority of his NBA career with the St.Louis/Atlanta Hawks franchise. After averaging 21.1 points per game during the 1969-70 NBA season, Caldwell jumped to the rival ABA, playing for the Carolina Cougars from 1970 to 1974. More than just a high-flying scorer, Caldwell was also a tenacious defender, and basketball legend Julius Erving once said that Caldwell guarded him better than any player in the ABA. Eventually, however, knee problems hampered Caldwell's effectiveness, and after one season with the ABA's Spirits of St. Louis, he retired in 1975. He scored 12,619 combined NBA/ABA career points.


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