World B. Free
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| Player information | ||
|---|---|---|
| birthday | December 9, 1953 | |
| place of birth | Atlanta , United States | |
| size | 191 cm | |
| position | Shooting Guard | |
| college | Guilford College | |
| NBA draft | 1975 , 23rd Pick, Philadelphia 76ers | |
| league | NBA | |
| Clubs as active | ||
1975–1978 Philadelphia 76ers 1978–1980 San Diego Clippers 1980–1982 Golden State Warriors 1982–1986 Cleveland Cavaliers 1987 Philadelphia 76ers 1987–1988 Houston Rockets
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World B. Free (born December 9, 1953 in Atlanta , Georgia as Lloyd Bernard Free ) is a retired American basketball player on the position of the shooting guard .
His 13-year NBA career started Free with the Philadelphia 76ers , who selected him in the 1975 draft in the second round in 23rd overall position. In his three years in Philadelphia, the team reached the playoffs. After they were eliminated in the first round in the 1975/76 season , they were only defeated in the 1976/77 season by the Portland Trail Blazers 2-4 . In the 1977/78 season the team reached the second round. Free was not in the starting line-up, but from the second season onwards he stood on the field for an average of 28 minutes and scored 16 points.
On October 12, 1978 he was transferred to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for a first-round draft pick . With the Clippers he experienced his most successful time in terms of personal values. In the 1978/79 season he scored the second most points and converted the most free throws in the NBA. In recognition of this, he was voted into the All-NBA Second Team . In the 1979/80 season he was invited to the All-Star Game . This year he again converted the most free throws and finished fourth in the points. The 30.2 points per game from this year should remain his best. Nevertheless, it was not enough for the playoffs in both years, although the team was able to win more than half of all games in the first year.
On August 28, 1980, Free moved to the Golden State Warriors . The Clippers received Phil Smith and a first-round draft pick. As before in San Diego, he also helped make a very bad team competitive in Oakland. The playoffs were still missed in 1981 and 1982 , despite the fact that the team won 55% of their games in 1982. Free could not quite build on his points haul at the Clippers, but was still one of the most successful shooters together with Bernard King . In addition, he increased the number of his assists to career highs of 5.6 and 5.4 per game.
On December 15, 1982, he went to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Ron Brewer . In his four years in Cleveland, Free contributed between 22 and 24 points per game each season, making him the most successful thrower on a weak team. Only in the 1984/85 season could the playoffs be reached with 44% games won. There they lost in the first round against the Boston Celtics . In the other years, the victory rate was sometimes well below 40%.
On December 30, 1986, he was recruited as a veteran free agent by the Philadelphia 76ers . Cleveland received a second round draft pick to equalize. He was released in early March 1987.
His last stop was the Houston Rockets , who signed Free on October 1, 1987 as a free agent . He played his last game on May 5, 1988. In 886 regular season games, he scored 17,955 points and had 3,319 assists . This corresponds to an average of 20.3 points and 3.7 assists per game.
Web links
- World B. Free - player profile on NBA.com
- World B. Free - player profile on basketball-reference.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Free, World B. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Free, Lloyd Bernard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 9, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Atlanta , Georgia, United States |