George Kaftan

George A. Kaftan (February 22, 1928 – October 6, 2018)^[1] was an American professional basketball player.

George Kaftan

Personal information
Born	(1928-02-22)February 22, 1928 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	October 6, 2018(2018-10-06) (aged 90)
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Xavier (New York City, New York)
College	Holy Cross (1945–1949)
BAA draft	1949: 2nd round
Drafted by	Boston Celtics
Playing career	1949–1953
Position	Small forward
Number	9, 17, 6
Career history
As a player:
1949–1950	Boston Celtics
1950–1952	New York Knicks
1952	Pawtucket Slaters
1952–1953	Baltimore Bullets
As a coach:
1958–1972	LIU Post
Career highlights
NCAA champion (1947) NCAA final Four MOP (1947) 2× Consensus second-team All-American (1947, 1948) No. 12 retired by Holy Cross Crusaders
Career BAA and NBA statistics
Points	1,594 (7.5 ppg)
Rebounds	424 (3.1 rpg)
Assists	399 (1.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

George grew up in New York City and went to Xavier in Manhattan before going to Holy Cross for college. Though just 6'3", Kaftan was the starting center for the College of the Holy Cross team that won the 1947 NCAA basketball tournament. In 1947 Kaftan also won Most Outstanding Player honors after averaging 21 points per game in three games.^[2]

Kaftan was selected in the second round of the 1949 BAA Draft. Kaftan later played professionally for the Boston Celtics (1949–1950), New York Knicks (1950–1952) and Baltimore Bullets (1952–1953). He averaged 7.5 points per game in his BAA/NBA career.^[3]

Kaftan is a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame.^[4]

Personal

Kaftan was of Greek descent. His family's original name was Kaftagouras.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1948–49	Boston	21	–	.368	.626	–	2.9	14.5
1949–50	Boston	55	–	.372	.654	–	2.6	9.7
1950–51	New York	61	–	.388	.624	2.5	1.2	4.9
1951–52	New York	52	18.4	.375	.687	3.8	1.7	6.2
1952–53	Baltimore	23	16.5	.317	.657	3.3	1.3	5.8
Career		212	17.8	.370	.650	3.1	1.9	7.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1951	New York	8	–	.333	.333	.8	.3	1.6
1952	New York	13	17.8	.394	.667	2.3	1.7	6.2
Career		21	17.8	.381	.644	1.7	1.1	4.4