Robert Allen 'Bob' McAdoo (born April 25, 1951 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is a former professional basketball player who spent his fourteen-season long career between the center and power forward positions.
Drafted in the first round of the 1972 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers), McAdoo soon became one of NBA's premier players, enjoying his first All-Star selection in only his second season. In 1974-1975 he was awarded the NBA MVP trophy, averaging impressive stats of 34.5 ppg, 14.1 rpg and 2.12 bpg, while shooting .512 from the floor and .805 from the free-throw line.
After this stellar beginning, McAdoo played several injury-crippled seasons for the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons and the New Jersey Nets. Although these seasons were solid statistically, many analysts and fans felt that McAdoo's career was stagnating, mostly because the teams he played for were not title contenders. However, McAdoo enjoyed a much more memorable end to his career, winning two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982 and 1984 as a substitute for legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
McAdoo's style was very modern for his time. Although a 'big man' at 6 ft 9 in, he had no problems taking shots from the perimeter, which, in his prime, made him a nearly unstoppable force on offense. Thus, he can be regarded as a precursor of players such as Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace or Karl Malone. For all his achievements, Bob McAdoo was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
