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Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed "Pitchin' Paul," was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History upon its 50th anniversary in 1996. He was a high-scoring forward at Villanova University before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA.
[edit] Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Arizin did not play basketball at La Salle College High School, failing to make the team in his only tryout as a senior. Arizin graduated just a year before another NBA hall of famer, Tom Gola, entered La Salle College High School as a freshman.
At Villanova, Arizin made the team in his sophomore year, and progressed so rapidly that in 1950 he was named the collegiate player of the year after leading the nation with 25.3 points per game. During a game in 1949, Azirin scored 85 points against the Naval Air Materials Center roster. After being selected by the Warriors with their first pick in the 1950 NBA Draft, he was the league scoring champion during the 1951-52 and 1956-57 seasons, and became one of the greatest NBA players of the 1950s.
He sat out the 1952-53 and 1953-54 NBA seasons due to military service in the Marines during the Korean War.[1]
He became famous for his line-drive jump shots, and teamed with center Neil Johnston to form the best offensive one-two punch in the NBA at the time, leading the Warriors to the 1956 NBA title. He also played with scoring star Joe Fulks early in his career, and with Philadelphia legends Tom Gola and Wilt Chamberlain toward the end of his career in the early 1960s. Arizin chose to retire from the NBA rather than move with the Warriors to San Francisco. At the time of his retirement, no player had retired from the game with a higher scoring average (21.9 points per game) in his final season. This record would stand until Bob Pettit's retirement in 1965 following a season in which he averaged 22.5 PPG.
After retiring from the NBA, Arizin played for three seasons with the Camden Bullets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League, winning the 1964 title.
Arizin played in 10 NBA All-Star Games (he was the 1952 NBA All-Star Game MVP) and was named to the All-NBA First-Team in 1952, 1956, and 1957. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. He died in his sleep at age 78 on December 12, 2006, in Springfield, Pennsylvania.[2]
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