Earl Tatum

William Earl Tatum (born July 26, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player from Mount Vernon, New York. He was a 6 ft 4+1⁄2 in (194 cm) 185 pounds (84 kg) guard who played high school basketball at Mount Vernon, where he was selected large-school player of the year by the New York State Sportswriters Association in 1972, and collegiately at Marquette University.

Earl Tatum

Personal information
Born	(1953-07-26) July 26, 1953 (age 72) Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, New York)
College	Marquette (1972–1976)
NBA draft	1976: 2nd round, 21st overall pick
Drafted by	Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career	1976–1980
Position	Shooting guard / small forward
Number	43, 35
Career history
1976–1977	Los Angeles Lakers
1977–1978	Indiana Pacers
1978	Boston Celtics
1978–1979	Detroit Pistons
1979–1980	Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights
Consensus second-team All-American (1976) No. 43 retired by Marquette Golden Eagles
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,508 (9.6 ppg)
Rebounds	682 (2.6 rpg)
Assists	507 (1.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Tatum was selected with the 4th pick of the second round in the 1976 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. During the 1977 NBA playoffs, Tatum's only postseason appearance, he averaged 13.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 11 games,^[1] as the Lakers advanced past the Golden State Warriors before losing to the Portland Trail Blazers.^[2] He played for five teams in 4 years, his final season spent with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1979–80.

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

NBA

Source^[3]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1976–77	L.A. Lakers	68		18.4	.466		.720	3.5	1.7	1.3	.3	9.4
1977–78	L.A. Lakers	25		26.5	.487		.763	3.6	2.8	1.5	.4	14.0
	Indiana	57	40	32.6	.462		.788	3.6	4.0	1.8	.5	14.4
1978–79	Boston	3		12.7	.400		.800	1.3	.3	.0	.3	6.7
	Detroit	76		15.7	.448		.727	1.6	.9	1.0	.4	7.8
1979–80	Cleveland	33		6.8	.383	.333	.579	.8	.6	.5	.2	2.6
Career		262	40	20.0	.459	.333	.746	2.6	1.9	1.2	.4	9.6

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977	L.A. Lakers	11	32.4	.500	.667	4.9	2.5	1.4	.8	13.6

See also

• List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game