Leon Wood
Osie Leon Wood III (born March 25, 1962), is an American former professional basketball player. A college All-American, he was a first round NBA draft pick, and both an Olympic and Pan-Am Games gold-medalist. He subsequently has had a career as an NBA referee.
Career
[edit]A 6'3" point guard from Saint Monica Catholic High School, Wood was an All-American at California State University-Fullerton. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 10th pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft and played in six NBA seasons for six different teams: the 76ers, Washington Bullets, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.
In his NBA career, Wood played in 274 games and scored a total of 1,742 points (6.4 points per game). He was a contestant in the first NBA 3-point shootout at the All-Star Weekend in Dallas in 1987.[1] Wood had a short European professional league stint in Germany for MTV 1846 Giessen, where he was signed for the playoffs and appeared in three games, scoring a total of 77 points.[2] He also played for CAI Zaragoza (ACB League) in the 1988–1989 season. Wood played four seasons in the Continental Basketball Association, averaging 18.1 points and 8.5 assists in 118 games, being named second-team All-CBA in 1990.[3] Wood last played professional basketball in the Philippine Basketball Association in 1994, where he led the Purefoods franchise to a semifinal finish.[4]
Wood is a two-time International gold-medalist, winning at the 1983 Pan American Games and as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached by Bobby Knight. Wood averaged 7.9 assists to lead the 1984 Olympic team.[5]
He became an NBA official in 1996.[6]
Other facts
[edit]Wood filed lawsuit against NBA for violations of antitrust laws. Both District Court and Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of NBA.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Ex-PBA import now NBA ref
- ^ 46ers Hall of Fame: Leon Wood
- ^ 1994–95 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 358
- ^ Notable NBA players who played in the PBA
- ^ LOOKBACK: How the 1984 NBA Draft made an impact on the PBA
- ^ NBA Officials: Referee Biographies
- ^ Wood v. National Basketball Ass'n, vol. 809, January 21, 1987, p. 954, retrieved August 22, 2019
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Italian League stats
- "Wood Sues NBA" @ New York Times
- 1962 births
- Living people
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- African-American referees and umpires
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American expatriate basketball people in France
- American expatriate basketball people in Germany
- American expatriate basketball people in Italy
- American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines
- American expatriate basketball people in Spain
- American men's basketball players
- Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players
- Atlanta Hawks players
- Basket CRO Lyon players
- Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games
- Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players from Columbia, South Carolina
- Cal State Fullerton Titans men's basketball players
- CB Zaragoza players
- Continental Basketball Association referees
- Fargo-Moorhead Fever players
- Giessen 46ers players
- Juvecaserta Basket players
- Liga ACB players
- Magnolia Hotshots players
- Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- NBA referees
- New Jersey Nets players
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- Philadelphia 76ers draft picks
- Philadelphia 76ers players
- Philippine Basketball Association imports
- Point guards
- Rapid City Thrillers players
- Sacramento Kings players
- San Antonio Spurs players
- Santa Barbara Islanders players
- Shooting guards
- United States men's national basketball team players
- Washington Bullets players