Walter Davis played high school basketball in South Mecklenburg, NC, so the choice of the University of North Carolina was a natural one for him. While at UNC, Davis starred all four years, never averaging less than 14 points in any season, despite Dean Smith’s team approach to basketball. Davis also played for Smith on the 1976 Olympic team and was one of the primary reasons the U.S. regained the Olympic basketball gold medal.
In 1977 Walter Davis was drafted first by the Phoenix Suns and easily made the transition into the NBA. He was voted Rookie of the Year in 1978 and named to the All-Rookie team. With 24.2 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game, he was also voted second-team All-NBA, a feat he repeated in 1979. Davis had a very solid NBA career, playing thru 1992, mostly with Phoenix, but finishing his career with four years in Denver, and a brief stint with the Portland Trail Blazers. In five years, he averaged over 20 ppg, and finished with a career scoring average of 18.9 ppg. He was a six-time All-Star game participant. His nephew, Hubert Davis, later followed him as a player at UNC and in the NBA, and eventually became the head coach at UNC in 2021.
United States