An Oregon State seven-footer with a 1964 Olympic gold medal, Counts backed up Bill Russell on Boston's 1965 and 1966 championship teams, then lost three straight Finals with the Lakers. In Game 7 of the 1969 Finals he replaced a limping Wilt Chamberlain and hit the shot that cut the deficit to one, but Los Angeles fell 108-106. He closed his long career with the New Orleans Jazz in 1976.
Counts settled into real estate in Salem, Oregon, at the head of a sprawling basketball family — three sons played college ball and grandsons followed. Mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen is his nephew.
HOW HE CAME & WENTThe Lakers traded him to the expansion Jazz on June 13, 1974, and the club waived him in February 1976.
No photograph of this signature is online yet.
| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | NOJ | 75 | 18.9 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | .438 | — | .761 |
| 1975–76 | NOJ | 30 | 10.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | .407 | — | .762 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 2 SEASONS | 105 | 16.6 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | .433 | — | .761 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗