Billy McKinney (basketball)
American basketball player and broadcaster
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William Mervin McKinney III (born June 5, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player, former radio broadcaster, and the current mayor of Zion, Illinois. Due to his quickness he was nicknamed "The Crazed Hummingbird".[1]
Billy McKinney speaks at his number retirement night during the Northwestern vs. Iowa men's basketball game | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 5, 1955 Waukegan, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Zion-Benton (Zion, Illinois) |
| College | Northwestern (1973–1977) |
| NBA draft | 1977: 6th round, 115th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Phoenix Suns |
| Playing career | 1978–1985 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 25, 7, 1 |
| Career history | |
| 1978–1980 | Kansas City Kings |
| 1980 | Utah Jazz |
| 1980–1983 | Denver Nuggets |
| 1983–1984 | San Diego Clippers |
| 1985 | Chicago Bulls |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 3,823 (8.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 677 (1.4 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,661 (3.5 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
A 6'0" guard, McKinney attended Zion-Benton High School where he played for Mo Tharp (long time Fremd coach), and Northwestern University; he earned a degree in education. He was the Wildcats' all-time leading scorer for 35 years until John Shurna surpassed him in February 2012.[2] From 1978 to 1986 McKinney played in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Kansas City Kings, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, San Diego Clippers, and Chicago Bulls. He averaged 8.0 points per game and 3.5 assists per game in his NBA career.
McKinney later served as Assistant Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Bulls, Director of Player Personnel for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Vice President of Basketball Operations (Detroit Pistons), and Executive Vice President of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and the same position for the WNBA's Seattle Storm. In his previous position he was the radio color analyst for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. In June 2008, McKinney was hired by fellow Zion-Benton alumnus John Hammond as the Milwaukee Bucks' Director of Scouting. In 2015, he was named vice-president of Scouting.
McKinney was elected as Zion's mayor in April 2019.[3]
On Saturday, March 2, 2024, McKinney's number 30 was retired by Northwestern University.
Career statistics
| 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[4]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–79 | Kansas City | 78 | 15.9 | .503 | .796 | 1.1 | 3.2 | .7 | .0 | 7.8 | ||
| 1979–80 | Kansas City | 76 | 17.5 | .449 | .100 | .805 | 1.1 | 3.3 | .8 | .1 | 6.8 | |
| 1980–81 | Utah | 35* | 29.5 | .532 | .500 | .917 | 2.1 | 4.5 | 1.1 | .1 | 8.4 | |
| Denver | 49* | 23.1 | .493 | .100 | .843 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 1.2 | .1 | 10.7 | ||
| 1981–82 | Denver | 81 | 27 | 24.2 | .528 | .000 | .806 | 1.8 | 4.2 | .9 | .2 | 10.8 |
| 1982–83 | Denver | 68 | 38 | 22.9 | .487 | .000 | .814 | 1.8 | 4.2 | .6 | .1 | 9.8 |
| 1983–84 | San Diego | 80 | 0 | 10.5 | .446 | .000 | .848 | .7 | 2.0 | .3 | .0 | 3.9 |
| 1985–86 | Chicago | 9 | 0 | 9.2 | .435 | – | 1.000 | .6 | 1.4 | .3 | .0 | 2.4 |
| Career | 476 | 65 | 19.3 | .493 | .063 | .820 | 1.4 | 3.5 | .7 | .1 | 8.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Kansas City | 5 | 19.2 | .375 | .857 | 1.4 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .0 | 7.2 | |
| 1980 | Kansas City | 3 | 11.3 | .400 | .000 | – | 1.0 | 2.7 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
| 1982 | Denver | 3 | 30.3 | .593 | .000 | .833 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 1.0 | .0 | 14.0 |
| 1983 | Denver | 8 | 14.1 | .565 | – | .556 | 1.6 | 2.3 | .3 | .0 | 7.8 |
| Career | 19 | 17.6 | .500 | .500 | .703 | 1.5 | 3.2 | .5 | .0 | 7.6 | |
Electoral history
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy McKinney | 1,281 | 63.10% | |
| Ron Molinaro | 749 | 36.90% | |
| Total votes | 2,030 | 100.00% | |
