James Bailey (basketball)

For other people named James Bailey, see James Bailey (disambiguation).

James L. Bailey (born May 21, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) forward/center from Rutgers University, he was selected with the 6th pick of the 1979 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. Nicknamed "Jammin' James," he spent 9 seasons (1979–1988) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for the Sonics as well as the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Phoenix Suns. He ended his NBA career with 5,246 total points.

James Bailey

Personal information
Born	(1957-05-21) May 21, 1957 (age 68) Dublin, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Xaverian Brothers (Westwood, Massachusetts)
College	Rutgers (1975–1979)
NBA draft	1979: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Drafted by	Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career	1979–1990
Position	Power forward / center
Number	20, 33, 2, 6, 54, 27
Career history
1979–1981	Seattle SuperSonics
1981–1982	New Jersey Nets
1982–1984	Houston Rockets
1984–1986	New York Knicks
1986–1987	New Jersey Nets
1987–1988	Phoenix Suns
1988–1989	Glaxo Verona
1990	Turboair Fabriano
Career highlights
Third-team All-American – UPI (1979) Second-team All-American – UPI (1978) Third-team All-American – NABC (1978) 2× Eastern 8 Player of the Year (1978, 1979) No. 20 retired by Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Career NBA statistics
Points	5,246 (8.8 ppg)
Rebounds	2,988 (5.0 rpg)
Blocks	521 (0.9 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

While at Rutgers, Bailey was a formidable player, displaying a strong inside presence in addition to possessing great leaping ability. He was famous for his conversion of "alley-oop" passes into slam dunks. The rule allowing dunking was re-instituted in college basketball beginning with the 1976–77 season, Bailey's sophomore year. Bailey's slam dunks were an immediate sensation at Rutgers, and Bailey led the team with 88 dunks as a sophomore. He increased this number to 116 as a junior. However, as a senior, he was met with constant double and triple teaming, and Rutgers' opponents "held" him to 79 dunks as a senior.

The Scarlet Knights advanced to the NCAA basketball Final Four in 1976, Bailey's freshman year, arriving with a 31–0 record. However, they were defeated by Michigan in the national semi finals, and then lost to UCLA in the 3rd place (consolation) game.

Bailey is number three on the Rutgers all-time scoring list (2,034 points),^[1] and second in career rebounds behind Phil Sellers (1,047). He is also the second leading shot-blocker in Rutgers history behind Roy Hinson.

Bailey went on to capture All-America honors from UPI and The Sporting News in 1978.

Bailey's #20 jersey was retired by Rutgers in 1993, and he was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame in the same year.

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^[2]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1979–80	Seattle	67		10.8	.450	–	.673	2.9	.4	.3	.8	4.7
1980–81	Seattle	82		31.0	.499	.500	.709	7.4	1.2	.9	1.7	14.0
1981–82	Seattle	10	0	18.0	.477	–	.364	4.8	1.3	.3	.7	6.6
	New Jersey	67	0	19.2	.523	–	.624	5.1	.8	.6	1.1	8.9
1982–83	New Jersey	6	0	8.3	.500	–	1.000	1.0	.3	.2	.2	3.3
	Houston	69	39	24.9	.497	.000	.700	6.8	.9	.6	.9	14.1
1983–84	Houston	73	0	16.1	.491	.000	.719	4.0	1.1	.5	.5	8.8
1984–85	New York	74	28	17.5	.447	.000	.676	4.6	.5	.4	.7	5.2
1985–86	New York	48	36	25.9	.456	.000	.772	7.0	1.0	.7	.8	11.1
1986–87	New Jersey	34	2	15.9	.469	–	.725	4.0	.6	.4	.7	8.3
1987–88	Phoenix	65	0	13.4	.452	.000	.787	3.2	.6	.3	.4	4.4
Career		595	105	19.5	.484	.077	.703	5.0	.8	.5	.9	8.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1980	Seattle	12	11.5	.477	–	.650	2.1	.4	.8	.8	4.6
1982	New Jersey	2	13.0	.333	–	1.000	3.0	.5	1.0	.5	2.0
Career		14	11.7	.468	–	.682	2.2	.4	.8	.7	4.2