1. Jamaal Wilkes was a two-time consensus first-team All-American and won two NCAA championships under coach John Wooden.
67 Facts About Jamaal Wilkes
1. 2.
Jamaal Wilkes was selected in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft by Golden State.
3.
Jamaal Wilkes briefly played with the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring from playing.
4.
Jamaal Wilkes played the titular role of Cornbread in the 1975 coming-of-age feature film Cornbread, Earl and Me.
5.
Jamaal Wilkes was one of five children of L Leander Wilkes, a Baptist minister, and Thelma Wilkes.
6.
Jamaal Wilkes's family had brief stays in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Dayton, Ohio, before he grew up in Ventura, California, having moved there in the second grade when his father became the pastor at Olivet Baptist Church in 1959.
7.
Jamaal Wilkes was Ventura High's incoming student body president, and his parents allowed him to stay in Ventura.
8.
At dinner, he came up to the team, which was eating dinner together at the dormitory dining hall, and gushed that Jamaal Wilkes' move was "smooth as silk".
9.
Jamaal Wilkes averaged 8.2 rebounds per game, his college career high, and was a second-team All-Pacific-8 selection.
10.
The Seminoles' Reggie Royals was assigned to defend Jamaal Wilkes but was asked to drop back to help guard Walton.
11.
Jamaal Wilkes had a season-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting and added 10 rebounds, while Walton earned the first of his two Final Four Most Outstanding Players with 24 points and 20 rebounds.
12.
The only other teammate scoring in double figures, Jamaal Wilkes had 16 points along with seven rebounds.
13.
Jamaal Wilkes ended his senior year with a career-high 16.7 points per game, and was a unanimous selection for the All-America first team.
14.
Jamaal Wilkes was unamimously voted to the All-Pac-8 first team for the second straight year.
15.
Jamaal Wilkes was one of the Bruins' most consistent players, averaging 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game with a field goal percentage of 51.4.
16.
Jamaal Wilkes was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft with the 11th overall pick.
17.
Jamaal Wilkes arrived at rookie camp out of shape and was disappointed in himself that he was unprepared.
18.
Jamaal Wilkes became a starter after only eight games, replacing incumbent Derrek Dickey.
19.
Jamaal Wilkes averaged 14.2 points per game, ranked second on the Warriors behind Barry, and was second on the team in rebounding with 8.2 per game.
20.
Jamaal Wilkes was named the NBA Rookie of the Year.
21.
Jamaal Wilkes ranked second on the Warriors in rebounding again, and he was voted for the first of two consecutive NBA All-Defensive Second Team selections.
22.
Jamaal Wilkes' scoring average improved to 17.8 in the regular season and 15.9 in the postseason, as Golden State advanced to the Western Conference finals, which they lost in seven games.
23.
Jamaal Wilkes reportedly took less money by signing with the Lakers.
24.
Jamaal Wilkes said "money isn't everything" and that he "needed a change of scenery, a fresh start".
25.
Jamaal Wilkes was upset that some Bay Area sportswriters portrayed him as a deserter for playing out his option and signing with their in-state Pacific Division rival.
26.
Jamaal Wilkes was the top-rate forward that Lakers head coach Jerry West coveted.
27.
Los Angeles traded 6-foot-4-inch Adrian Dantley to Utah for 6-foot-9-inch Spencer Haywood, the Lakers' first bona-fide power forward since Jamaal Wilkes joined the team, freeing him to move to small forward and relieved from guarding players as much as five inches and 50 pounds bigger.
28.
Jamaal Wilkes had been playing power forward his entire NBA career.
29.
Jamaal Wilkes re-signed to a reported long-term deal at $600,000 per year.
30.
Jamaal Wilkes helped the Showtime Lakers win three NBA championships.
31.
One of the most memorable games of his career was the series-clinching Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers; Jamaal Wilkes had a career-high 37 points and 10 rebounds, but was overshadowed by the rookie Johnson, who started at center in place of an injured Abdul-Jabbar and finished with 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists.
32.
In 1982, Jamaal Wilkes signed a long-term contract extension with the Lakers.
33.
Jamaal Wilkes had entered the postseason with a streak of 58 consecutive games scoring 10+ points in the playoffs.
34.
Jamaal Wilkes finished with then-career-lows of 42 games played and 8.3 points per game, but the Lakers won the 1985 NBA Finals over the Celtics with Worthy as one of their leaders.
35.
Jamaal Wilkes' leg atrophied, and he had to learn to walk again.
36.
On September 27,1985, Jamaal Wilkes was signed by the Los Angeles Clippers for the league minimum salary of $70,000.
37.
Jamaal Wilkes was averaging 5.8 points in 15 minutes per game.
38.
Jamaal Wilkes played well without needing the ball in his hands.
39.
Jamaal Wilkes was a threat shooting from outside, and was able to drive inside.
40.
Jamaal Wilkes had an unorthodox but reliable jump shot, releasing the ball with a patent corkscrew motion behind his ear and over his head that resembled a slingshot.
41.
Jamaal Wilkes developed the shot as a child to be able to compete against bigger and stronger opponents on the playground, delaying release of the ball to avoid it being blocked.
42.
Wooden said that he would not have encouraged that form, but Jamaal Wilkes consistently made his shots, so the coach left it alone.
43.
Jamaal Wilkes was not muscular, but Wooden said he was strong and never injured in college.
44.
Jamaal Wilkes did not talk much on the court and showed little emotion.
45.
When called for a foul, Jamaal Wilkes raised his index finger and acknowledged the call, believing that officials appreciated non-complainers.
46.
Jamaal Wilkes was never the leading man on his championship squads, but was outstanding in a supporting role in the shadow of stars Walton at UCLA, Barry with Golden State, and Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson on the Lakers.
47.
Jamaal Wilkes excelled at contributing in whatever area the team needed, whether it be scoring, rebounding, or defending.
48.
Jamaal Wilkes joined forces with the three-time national player of the year Walton to lead the Bruins to two consecutive national championships, extending their record streak to seven.
49.
Jamaal Wilkes enjoyed his best NBA seasons with the Lakers, with whom he spent eight seasons.
50.
Jamaal Wilkes teamed with Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson to start the Lakers' Showtime era with three NBA championships in the early 1980s.
51.
Jamaal Wilkes filled the lane on their famed fast break, converting Johnson's passes into layups.
52.
Jamaal Wilkes played in the 1976,1981, and 1983 All-Star Games and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team twice.
53.
Jamaal Wilkes was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pac-10 Men's Basketball Hall of Honor in 2007.
54.
Jamaal Wilkes's number was retired by both Ventura and Santa Barbara High School.
55.
Why not just take Jamaal Wilkes and let it go at that.
56.
Jamaal Wilkes made his feature-film debut playing the lead titular character of basketball player Nathaniel "Cornbread" Hamilton in the 1975 drama Cornbread, Earl and Me.
57.
Jamaal Wilkes then moved into financial services and motivational speaking.
58.
Jamaal Wilkes was a co-author of the book Success Under Fire: Lessons For Being Your Best In Crunch Time.
59.
Jamaal Wilkes co-authored his autobiography, Smooth as Silk: Memoirs of the Original, which released in 2015.
60.
Jamaal Wilkes was hired as vice president of basketball operations by the Los Angeles Stars for the inaugural season of the new American Basketball Association in 2000.
61.
Jamaal Wilkes and his first wife had a daughter who was born in 1977 with a hole in her heart and weighing just three pounds.
62.
Jamaal Wilkes was in a paternity suit that year, but was judged not to be the father.
63.
Jamaal Wilkes was involved with orthodox Islam for two years before converting, and selected his Islamic name near the end of 1974 during his rookie year.
64.
Jamaal Wilkes legally changed his name to Jamaal Abdul-Lateef in 1975, but he continued to use his birth surname only for purposes of public recognition.
65.
In December 1990, Jamaal Wilkes was pulled over by Los Angeles Police Department officers and handcuffed.
66.
Jamaal Wilkes did not follow up after Rodney King was beaten by four police officers three months later, which was captured on video.
67.
Jamaal Wilkes figured that the King incident was an indisputable case of racist behavior by the LAPD.