Walter Davis

A quick first step. A picture-perfect jumper. A high basketball IQ. North Carolina native Walter Davis torched opposing defenses for 15 straight seasons during the NBA’s golden age. Known as The Greyhound, he shot out of the starting blocks on the fast break, filling the lanes for easy baskets. In the half-court, his pull-up jump shot was velvety smooth. No matter how much traffic surrounded the six-time NBA All-Star, he consistently found the bottom of the net. In the summer of 1976, Davis joined fellow Tar Heels Phil Ford, Tom LaGarde, and Mitch Kupchak on coach Dean Smith’s gold-medal winning Olympic team. On February 25, 1983, in a game against the Seattle Supersonics, Davis scored 34 points for the Phoenix Suns before missing a shot, a record in the NBA. The 1978 NBA Rookie of the Year was named Second Team All-NBA in 1978 and 1979, and recorded 19,521 points and 3,878 assists for his career.