Nate Archibald

Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player.

He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings and Boston Celtics.

Despite playing in just blowouts as a junior, the shy, quiet teen managed to blossom into a high-school star, being named team captain and an All-City selection in 1966.

Off the court, Archibald began to attend school regularly and worked to improve his poor academic standing, which deterred most colleges from offering him a scholarship.

To improve his chances of playing major college basketball, Archibald enrolled at Arizona Western College, transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) the following year.

He had three standout seasons at El Paso, from 1967 to 1970 under Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins.

Archibald was selected in the second round of the 1970 NBA draft (19th pick) by the Cincinnati Royals.

He was also drafted by the Texas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association.

In his NBA debut, Archibald recorded 17 points and seven assists in a 128–104 loss to the New York Knicks.

Archibald played for the Royals/Kings franchise from 1970 to 1976.

On March 13, 1971, Archibald set a then-career-high by scoring 47 points in a 136-127 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

This versatility helped Archibald lead the NBA in scoring and assists in the same season (1972-73), making him the first of only two players in league history to achieve such a feat.

Archibald, a playground legend while growing up in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood in the South Bronx borough of New York City, played high school basketball for only one-and-a-half seasons, and was cut from the varsity squad at DeWitt Clinton High School as a sophomore.

He returned to the team as a junior.

During his time without basketball, Archibald briefly flirted with dropping out of school after having been largely truant in past years.

But with the help of two mentors, Floyd Layne and Pablo Robertson, Archibald turned it around.

Robertson, a former standout at Loyola of Chicago and a Harlem, New York playground impresario, had seen the gifted, mercurial Archibald in action on the playgrounds and convinced the young man's high school coach to re-instate him on the squad.

On November 18, 1972, Archibald recorded 51 points and 14 assists in a 127–117 win over the Houston Rockets.

In the 1972–73 season, Archibald led the NBA in scoring and assists (with 34 points and 11.4 assists, in 46 minutes a game, with all three averages being career-highs), becoming the first player to win the titles in both categories in the same season (In the 1967–68 season, Oscar Robertson led the NBA in points and assists per game but did not win the titles because they were based on totals rather than averages at the time.).

Archibald's scoring average of 34.0 points per game broke the NBA record for a guard and, as of 2023, is still a record for point guards.

His 910 assists that season (11.4 assists per game) were also an NBA record at the time, breaking Guy Rodgers' mark of 908.

He was named the Sporting News NBA MVP that season.

During the 1975 NBA Playoffs, Archibald made the postseason for the first time in his career after the then-Kansas City Kings finished 44-38 in the regular season.

Archibald went on to average 20.2 points and 5.3 assists in a six-game series loss in the first round to Bob Love and the Chicago Bulls.

Although Archibald was the Kings' most popular player, he was traded to the New York Nets for two first round draft picks (future all-star Otis Birdsong and rookie of the year Phil Ford), Jim Eakins and Brian Taylor in 1976.

Archibald would go on to average a comparatively low 20.5 points per game in his 34 games with the Nets.

Injured for much of the 1976–77 season, Archibald was traded by the Nets to the Buffalo Braves before the 1977–78 season, again for two first round draft picks (this time eventually becoming renowned defender Micheal Ray Richardson and prolific scorer Clifford Robinson), as well as George Johnson.

Archibald tore his Achilles tendon and never played a regular-season game for the Braves.

Buffalo traded Archibald to the Boston Celtics as part of a seven-player deal before the start of the next season.

His career at the Celtics started poorly.

He showed up 20 pounds overweight.

However, he adjusted and helped guide the Celtics to the best record in the NBA for three consecutive years (1979–1982).

Archibald won his first and only NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1980–81 season alongside young NBA star Larry Bird.

In Game 6 of the 1981 NBA Finals, Archibald recorded 13 points and 12 assists as the Celtics closed out the series against the Houston Rockets.

On February 15, 1982, Archibald recorded a tenure-high 23 assists in a 145-144 win over the Denver Nuggets.

After being waived by the Celtics, Archibald played the 1983–84 season with the Bucks; this was his final season.

He started at point guard in all 46 games he played.

In 1991, he was enshrined into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

Archibald was a willing passer and an adequate shooter from midrange.

However, it was his quickness, speed and shiftiness that made him difficult to guard in the open court, as he would regularly drive past defenders on his way to the basket.