20 Facts About Willie Naulls

William Dean Naulls was an American professional basketball player for 10 years in the National Basketball Association.

Willie Naulls was a four-time NBA All-Star with the New York Knicks and won three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics.

Willie Naulls grew up in California, where he was named the state's Mr Basketball in high school.

Willie Naulls played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, and earned All-American honors as a senior in 1956.

Willie Naulls was selected by the St Louis Hawks with the ninth overall pick of the 1956 NBA draft.

Willie Naulls played briefly with St Louis before being traded to New York, where he spent most of his career.

Willie Naulls was born in Dallas, Texas, to Daily and Bettie Willie Naulls.

Willie Naulls's father worked at shipyards in San Pedro, and his mother was a domestic worker.

Willie Naulls was a basketball star at San Pedro High, where he was named California Mr Basketball in 1952.

Willie Naulls attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played for the Bruins under future Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Wooden.

UCLA won the Pacific Coast Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament that season, while Willie Naulls was named a consensus second-team All-American.

Willie Naulls was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.

Willie Naulls was selected by the St Louis Hawks in the second round of the 1956 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick.

Willie Naulls called it a "culture shock" to see the segregation that existed in St Louis, the likes of which he had not seen since he was eight before moving to Southern California.

Willie Naulls spent just 19 games with the Hawks before being traded to the New York Knicks, with whom he would spend most of his career.

Willie Naulls averaged a double-double during his seven-year tenure with the Knicks, and he appeared as an NBA All-Star four times.

On March 2,1962, Willie Naulls scored 31 points and established another team record with his seventh straight game scoring 30 points or more.

Willie Naulls spent his last three professional seasons with the Celtics, winning three consecutive NBA championships in the process.

The 6-foot-6-inch Willie Naulls finished his 10-year NBA career with averages of 15.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Willie Naulls died on November 22,2018, in Laguna Niguel, California, from respiratory failure due to eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, which he had been battling for eight years.