Calvin J. Murphy

Pound-for-pound and inch-for-inch nobody played with more heart than Calvin Murphy. The 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound bundle of energy played pressure basketball at both ends of the court. He was a penetrator supreme on offense, and possessed that rare ability to stop on a dime and stick the jump shot when needed. His aggressive, belly-to-belly style also made him a top-notch defensive player despite guarding bigger players. A scoring phenomenon in high school and college, Murphy tallied 2,548 points (33.1 ppg) at Niagara University and once torched Syracuse for 68 points. He flourished in 13 professional seasons with the San Diego and Houston Rockets averaging double figures in points each year. Murphy was automatic from the free-throw line, once making 78 consecutive charity shots. He led the NBA in free throw percentage in 1981 and 1983 and his free throw percentage never dipped below .800.