Steve Downing

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1950)}}

{{other people|Stephen Downing}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Steve Downing

| image =

| width =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 9

| weight_lb = 225

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|09|09}}

| birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

| high_school = George Washington
(Indianapolis, Indiana)

| college = Indiana (1970–1973)

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 17

| draft_year = 1973

| draft_team = Boston Celtics

| career_start = 1973

| career_end = 1974

| career_position = Center

| career_number = 32

| years1 = {{nbay|1973|start}}–{{nbay|1974|start}}

| team1 = Boston Celtics

| highlights =

• NBA champion (1974)

}}

Steve Downing (born September 9, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player.

A 6'8" center, Downing, along with teammate George McGinnis, led Indianapolis Washington High School to a 31–0 record and a state championship in 1969.

{{cite web| url = https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/keller-mcginnis-never-topped-their-state-championships| title = For Keller and McGinnis, Memories of Winning State Never Faded| last = Montieth| first = Mark| date = January 25, 2017| website = Pacers.com| publisher = NBA Media Ventures, LLC| access-date = December 23, 2018}} He went on to star at Indiana University, and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball award in 1973 as the best player in the Big Ten Conference.{{cite web| url = http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/cs-000329silverpastmenmar19,1,821227.htmlstory?coll=cs-college-headlines| title = Silver Basketball winners| website = ChicagoTribune.com| accessdate = July 9, 2007}} Notable performances included the program's first triple-double: 28 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks in an 88–79 win over Michigan at the IU Fieldhouse on February 23, 1971;{{cite web| url = https://www.hoosiertimes.com/herald_times_online/sports/college/iu/mensbasketball/morgan-delivers-historic-triple-double-for-hoosiers/article_5c437a4c-76cb-578e-b48b-777fcad3d566.html| title = Morgan delivers historic triple double for Hoosiers| last = Miller| first = Mike| date = December 22, 2018| website = Herald-Times Online| publisher = The Hoosier Times| access-date = December 23, 2018}} and 47 points and 25 rebounds in a 90–89 double-overtime victory over Kentucky on December 11, 1971.{{cite web| url = http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/Games/19711211Indiana.html| title = Kentucky vs. Indiana – Saturday, December 11 1971| website = BigBlueHistory.net| access-date = December 23, 2018}}

Downing later played two seasons for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. He averaged 2.4 points per game in his professional career, and won an NBA Championship ring in 1974.{{cite basketball-reference |id=d/downist01 |name=Steve Downing |accessdate=February 23, 2025}}

Currently, Downing is the athletic director at Marian University in Indianapolis.