NBA born on May 9: Rockets celebrity Calvin Murphy "Interceptor" Smith

In NBA history, there are more than 5,000 players. That is to say, at least one player is born every day of the year, and our daily statistics on players born every day of the year are still ongoing. Today we introduce players born on May 9.

Calvin Murphy (1948)

Murphy was selected by the San Diego Rockets with the 18th overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft, and although the team moved to Houston the following year, Murphy played for the team throughout his 13-year career. In his rookie season, Murphy played 82 games, averaging 15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists per game, ranking fourth in the Rookie of the Year. He served as the team's starting point guard for the following decade.

Murphy's best performance in his career was in the 1977-78 season, with a career-high 25.6 points per game, plus 2.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals. The following year, he was selected into the All-Star roster, shooting first in the league in free throws in two of his final three seasons. In 1983, Murphy officially retired, averaging 17.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.5 steals in his career. In 1993, Murphy was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Elmore Smith (1949)

The nickname "Interceptor" is one of the most resounding titles in history, and Smith won the title for his outstanding basket protection. Smith was selected by the Buffalo Warriors with the third overall pick in the 1971 NBA draft. In his rookie season, he played 78 games, averaging 17.3 points and 15.2 rebounds per game, ranking second in the rookie annual selection. Before the 1973-74 season, block data was not recorded, and Smith averaged 4.9 blocks per game in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Many people believe that in his first two years in the league, he should have been at the top of the list.

He played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers as a substitute before retiring due to injury. In 1980, injuries forced him to end his career. In his eight years of career, Smith averaged 13.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. In October 1973, he sent 17 blocks against the Trail Blazers, which is still a single game record.

The following are chronologically arranged the remaining players born on May 9:

Howard Komives(May 9, 1941)

George Wilson(May 9, 1942)

Jake Jones(May 9, 1949)

Lloyd Batts(May 9, 1951)

David Benoit(May 9, 1968)

Marcus Webb(May 9, 1970)

Doug Christie Doug Christie (May 9, 1970)

Dragan Tarlac (May 9, 1973)

Chris Porter (May 9, 1978)

Nemanja Bjelica (May 9, 1988)

Eric-Green Erick Green (May 9, 1991)

Yogi Ferrell (May 9, 1993)

Timote Luwawu-Cabarrot (May 9, 1995)