This Billy Cunningham basketball card is number 215 in a series of 264 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1972-1973 American Basketball Association (ABA) season. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Carolina Cougars forward on a yellow background. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “In college Bill was called ‘Kangaroo Kid’,” as well as a short biography and career statistics.
A versatile forward, Cunningham is one of just four players in NBA history to average over 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists a game for an entire career. He was a four-time NBA All-Star as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers from 1965-1972, winning a title in 1967. Cunningham also played in the ABA for the Carolina Cougars from 1972-1974, and was named ABA MVP in 1973. He returned to the Philadelphia 76ers as a coach from 1977-1985, winning the 1983 NBA championship. Cunningham was enshrined as a player in the Hall of Fame in 1986, and was named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players in 1996.
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