Wayne Hightower

Wayne A. Hightower (January 14, 1940 – April 18, 2002) was an American professional basketball player who had a long and productive career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1962 to 1972.

He stood 6 foot and primarily played the forward positions.

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Overbrook High School from 1955 to 1958, where he played basketball.

He was the first selection to the all-public basketball team by the Philadelphia Inquirer during the 1956–57 season.

He was also named second team all-Pennsylvania by the United Press International (UPI) and third team all-Pennsylvania by the Associated Press (AP) that season.

In December 1957, Overbrook won the Cambria County War Memorial Basketball Tournament after they defeated Charleroi High School, 72–58.

Hightower was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

The UPI named Hightower to the first all-Pennsylvania high school basketball team during the 1957–58 season.

Overbrook defeated Bishop Neumann High School for the 1958 Philadelphia High School Basketball Championship.

Following the tournament, Hightower was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Most Valuable Player.

At the end of the season, Hightower was named second team All-American by Parade.

His professional career began in 1961 after his departure from the University of Kansas at the end his junior year.

Hightower stated he did so to financially support his family, but he would have been ineligible to play basketball his senior year due to his poor academic standing.

NBA rules barred players with college eligibility from being drafted or signed to a team, so Hightower signed with the Pittsburgh Rens of the upstart American Basketball League (ABL) for the 1961–62 season.

The ABL's commissioner voided the contract when the Kansas City Steers protested that they had territorial rights to Hightower since he went to the University of Kansas.

Instead of signing with the Steers, Hightower joined the Spanish team Real Madrid Baloncesto.

He was both the EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer and the Spanish League Top Scorer in 1962.

During the 1962 NBA draft, the San Francisco Warriors selected Hightower in the first round with the seventh overall pick.

In the NBA, Hightower played for the Warriors (1962–65), the Baltimore Bullets (1965–1967) and the Detroit Pistons (1967).

He also played for the Harrisburg Patriots of the Eastern Professional Basketball League during parts of the 1965–66 season, while still under contract with the Baltimore Bullets.

After joining the ABA in 1967, he played for the Denver Rockets (1967–69), the Los Angeles / Utah Stars (1969–71), the Texas Chaparrals (1971) and the Carolina Cougars (1971–72).

During the off-season before the 1967–68 season, Hightower was one of the first active NBA players to sign with the fledgling ABA, which lent credibility to the new league.

Denver Rockets head coach and general manager Bob Bass would later say that the acquisition of Hightower was the most important moment in the team's first year.

During parts of his ABA career, Hightower would serve as the vice president of the ABA Players Association, a labor union that represented the league's players.

In 1973, Hightower sued the ABA for backed wages and damages.

He claimed he was blacklisted from professional basketball.

The parties settled the case the following year.

After his basketball career was over, Hightower volunteered for the Peace Corps, which dispatched him to Tunisia.

He later returned to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he coached youth basketball.

Hightower had poor cardiac health.

During his tenure with the Chaparrals, Hightower was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg.

In 1988, he estimated that had suffered three or four heart attacks over his life.

In 1999, Gannett News Service writer Dave Krider named the 1957–58 Overbrook team the eighth best high school basketball team of the 20th century.

Following his senior season, Hightower played for the Chester Times All-Star basketball team at the YMCA in Chester, Pennsylvania.

During the summer, with school out of session, Hightower played in the Wildwood Crest, New Jersey Basketball League and the Catskills Basketball League at Shawanga Lodge.

The AP reported that at least 33 colleges showed interest in recruiting Hightower, who was drawing comparisons to former Overbrook center Wilt Chamberlain.

Jack McCloskey, the head coach of Penn Quakers men's basketball team, told sportswriter Ronnie Christ that he tried to recruit Hightower — but due to his poor grades he would not be accepted by the university.

Hightower played college basketball at Kansas, with the Kansas Jayhawks.

He died of a heart attack on April 18, 2002, aged 62, in Philadelphia.

Hightower attended Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played on the school's varsity basketball team.