Bird Averitt

William Rodney "Bird" Averitt (July 22, 1952 – December 12, 2020) was an American professional basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an ABA championship with the Kentucky Colonels in 1975.

Bird Averitt

Personal information
Born	(1952-07-22)July 22, 1952 Hopkinsville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	December 12, 2020(2020-12-12) (aged 68) Hopkinsville, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Hopkinsville (Hopkinsville, Kentucky)
College	Pepperdine (1971–1973)
NBA draft	1973: 4th round, 55th overall pick
Drafted by	Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1973–1978
Position	Shooting guard
Number	10, 14, 15
Career history
1973–1974	San Antonio Spurs
1974–1976	Kentucky Colonels
1976–1977	Buffalo Braves
1977	New Jersey Nets
1978	Buffalo Braves
1979	Rochester Zeniths
Career highlights
ABA champion (1975) NCAA scoring champion (1973) WCAC Player of the Year (1973) First-team All-WCAC (1973) Second-team All-WCAC (1972)
Career ABA/NBA statistics
Points	4,434 (12.1 ppg)
Rebounds	680 (1.9 rpg)
Assists	1,078 (2.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, he played college basketball for the Pepperdine Waves and was named the conference player of the year in the West Coast Conference. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1973 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and the second round of the 1973 ABA Draft by the San Diego Conquistadors.^[1]

He played for the San Antonio Spurs (1973–74) and Kentucky Colonels (1974–76) in the ABA for 236 games, winning the 1975 ABA championship with the Colonels. After the Colonels were disbanded as part of the ABA–NBA merger, Averitt joined the Buffalo Braves through the 1976 ABA dispersal draft, playing with that team for the 1976–77 season until joining the New Jersey Nets for the 1977–78 season, playing 130 games in the NBA with those two teams.

Averitt died at age 68 on December 12, 2020.^[2]

ABA/NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

†	Denotes season in which Averitt's team won an ABA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1973–74	San Antonio (ABA)	74	–	22.1	.376	.180	.696	1.6	1.8	0.9	0.1	11.5
1974–75†	Kentucky (ABA)	84	–	24.2	.416	.149	.778	2.2	3.8	1.0	0.2	13.1
1975–76	Kentucky (ABA)	78	–	29.1	.429	.313	.769	2.7	3.8	1.4	0.3	17.9
1976–77	Buffalo	75	–	15.1	.378	–	.716	1.0	1.8	0.4	0.1	7.9
1977–78	New Jersey	21	–	19.5	.367	–	.800	1.6	3.2	0.8	0.0	8.3
1977–78	Buffalo	34	–	19.9	.436	–	.667	1.5	3.8	0.6	0.2	9.5
Career		366	–	22.3	.405	.249	.743	1.9	2.9	0.9	0.2	12.1

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1974	San Antonio (ABA)	6	–	17.3	.373	.000	.789	1.8	0.3	0.2	0.7	8.8
1975†	Kentucky (ABA)	14	–	18.9	.364	.200	.806	1.6	2.1	0.5	0.0	9.9
1976	Kentucky (ABA)	10	–	35.8	.404	.154	.881	2.2	6.1	1.2	0.2	19.9
Career		30	–	24.2	.385	.143	.837	1.8	3.1	0.7	0.2	13.0

See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season scoring leaders