Jerry Chambers

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Jerry Chambers

| image = Jerry Chambers.jpeg

| width =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 185

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|07|18}}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| high_school = Eastern (Washington, D.C.)

| college =

Trinidad CC (1962–1964)
Utah (1964–1966)

| draft_year = 1966

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 7

| draft_team = Los Angeles Lakers

| career_start = 1966

| career_end = 1974

| career_number = 40, 44, 33

| career_position = Small forward

| years1 = {{nbay|1966|full=y}}

| team1 = Los Angeles Lakers

| years2 = {{nbay|1969|full=y}}

| team2 = Phoenix Suns

| years3 = {{nbay|1970|full=y}}

| team3 = Atlanta Hawks

| years4 = {{nbay|1971|full=y}}

| team4 = Buffalo Braves

| years5 = 1972–1973

| team5 = San Diego Conquistadors

| years6 = 1973–1974

| team6 = San Antonio Spurs

| highlights =

NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1966)
First-team All-WAC (1966)
Second-team All-WAC (1965)

| stats_league = NBA and ABA

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 2,667 (8.3 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 1,032 (3.2 rpg)

| stat3label = Assists

| stat3value = 270 (0.8 apg)

}}

Jerome Purcell Chambers (born July 18, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player. At 6'5" and 185 pounds, he played as a small forward.

Early life

Chambers attended Spingarn High School in Washington, D.C., transferring to Eastern High School after being cut from the basketball team.{{cite news |last1=McKenna |first1=Dave |title=The Next Wave |url=https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/theater/article/13017246/the-next-wave |work=Washington City Paper |date=March 5, 1999 |language=en}}

College career

File:Jerry Chambers Utah.jpeg

Chambers then attended the University of Utah from 1963 to 1966, winning the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award in 1966, despite his Runnin' Utes finishing fourth at the 1966 Final Four.[https://utahutes.com/news/2007/11/7/Moment_No_16_Jerry_Chambers_Magnificent_March_1966 Jerry Chambers Magnificent March, 1966]

Chambers is the only player to ever earn MOP for a fourth-place team (the 3rd place game was eliminated in 1981). His 143 points in four games remains an NCAA Tournament record, with 70 of them coming in the Final Four—38 against eventual national champion Texas-Western, and 32 more in the third-place game against the Duke Blue Devils.{{cite web|url=http://utahutes.com/news/2007/11/7/Moment_No_16_Jerry_Chambers_Magnificent_March_1966.aspx|title=Moment No. 16 – Jerry Chambers Magnificent March, 1966|website=University of Utah Athletics|date=7 November 2007 }}

For his career at Utah Chambers averaged a double-double, 24.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. As a senior in 1965–1966, he averaged 28.8 points and 11.6 rebounds.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jerry-chambers-2.html|title=Jerry Chambers College Stats|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}} His 892 points in 1965–1966 remains second all time at Utah.{{cite web|url=http://www.runninutes.com/program/ute-legends.html|title=Utah Men's Basketball – Ute Legends|website=www.runninutes.com}}

Professional career

He played four professional seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers (1966–1967), Phoenix Suns (1969–1970), Atlanta Hawks (1970–1971) and Buffalo Braves (1971–1972). Chambers then played two seasons in the American Basketball Association as a member of the San Diego Conquistadors (1972–1973) and the San Antonio Spurs (1973–1974).

His best season was with San Diego under Coach K.C. Jones, when he averaged 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SDA/1973.html|title=1972–73 San Diego Conquistadors Roster and Stats|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}

He missed the 1967–1968 and 1968–1969 seasons due to military service.

In 1968, he was involved in one of the most significant transactions in NBA history when he was traded by the Lakers, along with Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff to the Philadelphia 76ers for Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain. Chambers never played for the 76ers, as they subsequently traded him to Phoenix.[https://web.archive.org/web/20010413173351/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2001/02/22/sayitaintso_sixers/ "Say It Ain't So: Philadelphia 76ers].

Chambers retired with 2,667 combined NBA/ABA career points, averaging 8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/chambje01.html|title=Jerry Chamberlain NBA/ABA statistics|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=29 May 2024}}

Honors/Personal

Chambers and the 1966 Final Four Utah team were honored on March 4, 2017, at halftime of the Utah game against Stanford.{{cite web|url=http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5011736&itype=CMSID|title=Utah basketball: 1966 Runnin' Utes receive long-awaited recognition|website=The Salt Lake Tribune}}

Chambers worked for the Los Angeles City Parks and Recreation department for many years.{{cite web|url=http://www.collegehoopedia.com/players/basketball-stars-in-real-world|title=Blasts From the Past: What Did Basketball Stars Do in "Real World"?|website=www.collegehoopedia.com}}