Joe Pace

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Joe Pace

| image =

| width =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 10

| weight_lb = 220

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|12|18}}

| birth_place = New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.

| high_school = Franklin (Somerset, New Jersey)

| college =

{{nowrap|Maryland Eastern Shore (1972–1974)}}
Coppin State (1974–1976)

| draft_year = 1976

| draft_round = 2

| draft_pick = 31

| draft_team = Washington Bullets

| career_start = 1976

| career_end = 1981

| career_number = 44

| career_position = Center

| years1 = {{nbay|1976|start}}–{{nbay|1977|end}}

| team1 = Washington Bullets

| years2 = 1978–1979

| team2 = Baltimore Metros

| years3 = 1979–1981

| team3 = Scavolini Pesaro

| highlights =

NBA champion (1978)
NAIA tournament MVP (1976)

| bbr = pacejo01

}}

Joe Pace (born December 18, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the NBA for the Washington Bullets and in Italy for Scavolini Pesaro.

College career

Pace played college basketball at Maryland Eastern Shore and Coppin State.

Professional career

Pace won a league championship with the Washington Bullets in 1977–78.

On August 8, 1978, he signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, but walked out of pre-season training camp and was subsequently placed on waivers. In October 1978, he signed with the Baltimore Metros of the Continental Basketball Association.{{cite news |title=Ex-Celtics Signs With Metros Five |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/368282321/?terms=%22Continental%20Basketball%20Association%22&match=1 |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=Hartford Courant |agency=Associated Press |date=24 October 1978 |location=Hartford, Connecticut |page=40}} He appeared in 12 games for Baltimore and averaged 17.6 points per game, 2.4 blocks and 8.4 rebounds in 30.8 minutes. Pace played in the Italian top league for Scavolini Pesaro in 1979–1981.{{cite web |title=Joe Pace minor league basketball statistics |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbasketball/stats/p-pacejoe001 |website=StatsCrew.com |publisher=Stats Crew |access-date=22 April 2022}}

Personal life

In May 2008, he resided at a homeless shelter in Seattle.{{citation | last = Raley | first = Dan | title = From NBA glory to homeless shelter | newspaper=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date = 15 May 2008 | url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/363308_pace16.html}} Shortly after The Seattle Post-Intelligencer documented his troubles, he received an outpouring of support from within the NBA community, and subsequently found a home.{{citation | last = Raley | first = Dan | title = Benefactors unite to lift former player from the streets | newspaper=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date = 30 June 2008 | url=http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Benefactors-unite-to-lift-former-NBA-player-from-1278046.php}}

Career statistics

=NBA=

Source{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/pacejo01.html|title=Joe Pace NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=12 May 2025}}