Phil Chenier
American basketball player (born 1950)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Chenier (born October 30, 1950)[1][2] is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA)[3] for ten seasons.[4] He was also a television sports broadcaster for the NBA's Washington Wizards.[5]
Chenier in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 30, 1950 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Berkeley (Berkeley, California) |
| College | California (1969–1971) |
| NBA draft | 1971: Hardship round, 4th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Baltimore Bullets |
| Playing career | 1971–1981 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 45, 30, 15 |
| Career history | |
| 1971–1979 | Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets |
| 1979–1980 | Indiana Pacers |
| 1981 | Golden State Warriors |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 9,931 (17.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,063 (3.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,742 (3.0 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Early years
Born and raised in Berkeley, California, Chenier graduated from Berkeley High School and played college basketball for the California Golden Bears in Berkeley.[6]
NBA playing career
Chenier was selected fourth in the 1971 NBA Hardship Draft by the Baltimore Bullets (as well as the Carolina Cougars in the 1971 ABA Special Circumstances Draft, the Virginia Squires in the 1973 ABA Senior Draft, and the New York Nets in the 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players), and played for the Bullets for eight seasons, from 1971 to 1979. The franchise moved from Baltimore to Washington in 1973, after his second season.[7] He was one of the better shooting guards in the NBA[8] for the first six seasons in his career, but he suffered a back injury early in the 1977–78 season and had season-ending surgery.[9][10] The Bullets went on to win the NBA title with Kevin Grevey as the shooting guard. Chenier was never the same player after that; he came back from his surgery late the next season, but never could crack the Bullets' starting lineup again.
Chenier was released by the Bullets after the 1978–79 season, and played briefly for the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors and retired after the 1980–81 season.
Chenier, who was a 1972 NBA All-Rookie Team selection, averaged 17.2 points per game for his career, and was named to three NBA All-Star teams.[11] He finished 8th in MVP voting in the 1974–75 season.
In 2017, the Wizards announced that they would retire Chenier's number 45 jersey.[12] On March 23, 2018, Chenier's jersey was retired.[13] As of 2025, he is one of only five franchise players with that honor, the others being Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Gus Johnson, and Earl Monroe.
Broadcasting career
Chenier, who got his start in television sports broadcasting with Home Team Sports back in 1985, has announced black college games alongside broadcasters Charlie Neil and James Brown for Black Entertainment Television. He was the color analyst for the Washington Bullets and Washington Wizards games on television from 1987 to 2017, with a final pairing for NBC Sports Washington alongside play-by-play commentator, Steve Buckhantz.
NBA 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 |
| † | Won an NBA championship | * | Led the league |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–72 | Baltimore | 81 | — | 30.6 | .415 | — | .737 | 3.3 | 2.5 | — | — | 12.3 |
| 1972–73 | Baltimore | 71 | — | 39.1 | .452 | — | .795 | 4.1 | 4.2 | — | — | 19.7 |
| 1973–74 | Capital | 76 | — | 38.7 | .434 | — | .820 | 5.1 | 3.1 | 2.0 | .9 | 21.9 |
| 1974–75 | Washington | 77 | — | 37.3 | .450 | — | .825 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.3 | .8 | 21.8 |
| 1975–76 | Washington | 80 | — | 36.9 | .483 | — | .827 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 2.0 | .6 | 19.9 |
| 1976–77 | Washington | 78 | — | 36.4 | .444 | — | .841 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 1.5 | .5 | 20.2 |
| 1977–78† | Washington | 36 | — | 26.0 | .443 | — | .790 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .3 | 14.1 |
| 1978–79 | Washington | 27 | — | 14.3 | .437 | — | .643 | .7 | 1.1 | .1 | .2 | 5.8 |
| 1979–80 | Washington | 20 | — | 23.5 | .393 | .500 | .756 | 2.2 | 2.1 | .9 | .3 | 10.1 |
| Indiana | 23 | — | 16.5 | .385 | .333 | .692 | 1.5 | 2.0 | .7 | .4 | 5.4 | |
| 1980–81 | Golden State | 9 | — | 9.1 | .333 | .333 | 1.000 | .9 | .8 | .0 | .0 | 3.2 |
| Career | 578 | — | 33.1 | .444 | .400 | .806 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 1.6 | .6 | 17.2 | |
| All-Star | 3 | 0 | 16.0 | .500 | — | .500 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .7 | .0 | 7.3 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Baltimore | 6 | — | 25.5 | .373 | — | .833 | 2.7 | .8 | — | — | 9.0 |
| 1973 | Baltimore | 5 | — | 42.2 | .506 | — | .750 | 4.2 | 3.4 | — | — | 17.8 |
| 1974 | Capital | 7 | — | 44.3 | .453 | — | .892 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 22.4 |
| 1975 | Washington | 17* | — | 40.7 | .470 | — | .895 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .6 | 24.2 |
| 1976 | Washington | 7 | — | 37.9 | .438 | — | .824 | 3.7 | 1.6 | .9 | .4 | 18.0 |
| 1977 | Washington | 9 | — | 40.0 | .476 | — | .804 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | .4 | 25.0 |
| 1979 | Washington | 9 | — | 10.8 | .217 | — | .455 | 0.9 | 1.0 | .3 | .0 | 2.8 |
| Career | 60 | — | 34.8 | .450 | — | .845 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | .5 | 18.1 | |
Personal life
Chenier resides in Columbia, Maryland, with his wife Gerry Chenier. He has two daughters, one son and grandchildren.