The 1968 Olympic basketball team was not expected to be one of the greatest teams we have ever sent to the Olympics and many people thought the 1968 team might be the first ever to lose the gold medal. But the experts had not heard of Spencer Haywood, who was then an unknown freshman at the University of Detroit. Haywood was a 6-8 (2.03) player who could play either the post or power forward. In the Olympics he completely dominated the big men from other countries to lead the U.S. to another gold medal. After the Olympics, Haywood returned to school for only one year. He joined the Denver Rockets of the ABA in 1969 and began an outstanding professional career. In his first year he was the Rookie of the Year, the Most Valuable Player and made first-team All-ABA. He then jumped leagues to join the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics and took up where he left off by becoming one of the great forwards in the NBA. He made first-team All-NBA three straight years, and then was named to the second-team for the two years after that. In 1975 he was traded to the New York Knicks, where he played for four seasons. He finished his NBA career in 1984, after stops in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and with the Washington Bullets. Haywood was briefly married to Somalian supermodel Iman, who later married the famous musician David Bowie.
United States