Baller of the Day: Dave Bing

» October 23, 2008 5:30 AM | By Brandon Hoffman

20.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 44 FG%, 78 FT%

“Sport magazine once dubbed Dave Bing ‘Mr. Unsung-About.’ A high-scoring guard who quietly triumphed over injury and went about his business for 12 seasons in the NBA, he then quietly went on to off-court success as a self-made industrial magnate.

The buzz of celebrity never seemed to attract the speedy Bing, who excelled in an NBA era rich in backcourt legends that included Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Walt Frazier.

In nine seasons with the Detroit Pistons, followed by two with the Washington Bullets and one with the Boston Celtics, Bing amassed 18,327 points in 901 contests (20.3 ppg). His efforts earned him a spot on the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. The league’s Rookie of the Year for 1966-67, he went on to make the All-NBA First Team twice and the Second Team once, and he played in seven NBA All-Star Games. In only his second season, 1967-68, he led the NBA in scoring with 27.1 points per game.

Yet more remarkable than his career accomplishments is the fact that Bing found the will to play for seven seasons after suffering a devastating eye injury, a setback his doctors assumed would cut short a brilliant career. And there is the fact that Bing, a child of urban poverty who signed his first professional contract for all of $15,000 per year, followed his NBA career by building his own $60 million-per-year steel business in Detroit and becoming a noted civic leader.” [Read]

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