Willie Wise

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American basketball player

title: "Willie Wise" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1947-births", "living-people", "20th-century-african-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "aba-all-stars", "american-men's-basketball-players", "basketball-players-from-san-francisco", "city-college-of-san-francisco-rams-men's-basketball-players", "denver-nuggets-players", "drake-bulldogs-men's-basketball-players", "los-angeles-stars-players", "san-francisco-warriors-draft-picks", "seattle-supersonics-players", "small-forwards", "undrafted-aba-players", "utah-stars-players", "virginia-squires-players"] description: "American basketball player" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Wise" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American basketball player ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox basketball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Willie Wise
image	Willie Wise and Julius Erving.jpg
caption	Wise being guarded by New York Nets player Julius Erving.
position	Small forward
height_ft	6
height_in	5
weight_lb	210
number	42
birth_date
birth_place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
high_school	Balboa (San Francisco, California)
draft_year	1969
draft_round	5
draft_pick	64
draft_team	San Francisco Warriors
career_start	1969
career_end	1977
years1	1969–1974
team1	Los Angeles / Utah Stars
years2	1974–1976
team2	Virginia Squires
years3
team3	Denver Nuggets
years4
team4	Seattle SuperSonics
stats_league	ABA and NBA
stat1label	Points
stat1value	9,727 (17.6 ppg)
stat2label	Rebounds
stat2value	4,578 (8.3 rpg)
stat3label	Assists
stat3value	1,594 (2.9 apg)
bbr	wisewi01
::

CC of San Francisco (1965–1967)
Drake (1967–1969) | draft_year = 1969 | draft_round = 5 | draft_pick = 64 | draft_team = San Francisco Warriors | career_start = 1969 | career_end = 1977 | years1 = 1969–1974 | team1 = Los Angeles / Utah Stars | years2 = 1974–1976 | team2 = Virginia Squires | years3 = | team3 = Denver Nuggets | years4 = | team4 = Seattle SuperSonics | highlights =
ABA champion (1971)
3× ABA All-Star (1972–1974)
2× All-ABA Second Team (1972, 1974)
2× ABA All-Defensive First Team (1973, 1974)
ABA All-Rookie First Team (1970)
ABA All-Time Team
No. 42 retired by Drake Bulldogs | stats_league = ABA and NBA | stat1label = Points | stat1value = 9,727 (17.6 ppg) | stat2label = Rebounds | stat2value = 4,578 (8.3 rpg) | stat3label = Assists | stat3value = 1,594 (2.9 apg) | bbr = wisewi01 Willie M. Wise (born March 3, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. After a successful ABA tenure, which eventually resulted in him making the ABA All-Time Team, Wise's NBA career was ended prematurely by a knee injury.

Career

A 6'6" forward from Drake University, Wise earned a spot on the American Basketball Association's (ABA) Los Angeles (later Utah) Stars in 1969. He would prove to be one of the best all-around players in the league, as he was both a proficient scorer (19.2 points per game during his ABA career) and a highly esteemed defender. While playing for the Stars, who won the 1971 ABA Championship, Sports Illustrated described him as "the best two-way performer in pro basketball". Wise later played with the Virginia Squires.

Wise was a prime-time player. During his pro career he saw action in 552 regular-season games and averaged 17.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.16 steals. He increased those numbers to 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.39 in 74 postseason contests. He was a two-time All-ABA Second Team selection and a two-time All-ABA Defensive First Team choice.

After the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, Wise played one full season and part of a second in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics. The SuperSonics waived Wise in November 1977 after he suffered a career-ending knee injury.

On 7 February 2009, Drake University retired Wise's #42 jersey that he wore for the Bulldogs.

Retirement

Wise is among the former ABA players who are fighting the NBA to receive fair treatment from their pension fund.

Wise maintains pride in the way ABA teams played the game and influenced the way the NBA has evolved into a more free-flowing style that resembles the ABA.

::quote "We practically pioneered the Golden State Warriors. The way they play is the way we played in the ’60s and ’70s, and the NBA’s adoption of the 3-point line after much wrangling back and forth — because there were a lot that did not want it because they thought it was just an ABA gimmick to get people into the stands; let’s give them three points for a shot from a certain distance rather than just two, and the old guard in the NBA didn’t want it and fought against it, Red Auerbach being one, Dick Motta from the Bulls being another, and I want to say, but I’m not certain about this one, Jerry Colangelo. There were a number of coaches that fought it and finally the NBA adopted it (for the 1979–80 season), and it just grew and grew…" ::

References

"Remember the ABA: Willie Wise".
(2017-08-02). "Willie Wise: a defender of the ABA's legacy, a staunch supporter of the players' pension fight".
"How a Career Ends: George Gervin Blew by Me, and I Knew That Was It".
[http://news.drake.edu/2009/02/05/drake-basketball-trio-to-have-jerseys-retired/ Drake basketball trio to have jerseys retired], ''[[Drake University. Drake]].edu''
(2017-08-02). "Willie Wise: a defender of the ABA's legacy, a staunch supporter of the players' pension fight".
(2017-08-02). "Willie Wise: a defender of the ABA's legacy, a staunch supporter of the players' pension fight".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::