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A World of Difference - Part 1 of 3
When it comes to balancing basketball and the community, few can do it better than former Sixer and NBA All-Star World B. Free. Despite his retirement from the NBA more than a decade ago, this former New York City playground legend is still scoring big-time points with thousands of fans in the Delaware Valley as the Ambassador of 76ers Basketball. While preparing for the Eighth annual Summer Hoops Tour, Free took some time out to share his thoughts on today’s NBA and reflected on some of his own personal memories as a player. In this three part series, he also discusses why he feels so strongly about giving back to the community and how working with kids through recreational basketball has given him a great career off the court. Below is Part One of this three part series. This season, you are still ranked among the top 50 in NBA history all-time for points scored. As you reflect on the great scorers in today’s game and their greater use of three-point shot, do you wish you would have shot more three’s? I like the three-point shot. It brings a lot of excitement to the game. It is a lot different than when I played where you could lay back in the lane double-teaming the big centers. These days you can’t sit back because many guys can shoot the three. But for me, I enjoyed the old-fashioned three-point-play. I wanted to drive to the basket and draw the foul. I loved the contact and actually led the league a few times in getting to the foul line. So, while I could obviously shoot the deep shot, I loved going to the basket. You are well known in basketball circles as being a true NYC basketball legend? Who were some of the other playground legends from your neighborhood that ultimately made it to the NBA? James “Fly” Williams was one of the best playground legends. He played in the ABA with the St. Louis Spirit. He was six-foot-six and super talented. But drugs overtook him, and his career was stopped short. I remember going to see him in college when my college team visited his area. Fans were packed in the stands with “fly swatters”. He was always late and actually came to the game late. But he still racked up a ton of points. Also, a guy named Phil “The Thrill” Sellers who played at Rutgers. He was unique for that time because he was six-foot-four, burly, with long arms. He could jump out of the building. But he didn’t develop the guard skills and lasted only one year with the Detroit Pistons. But those are a couple of legends from my time who played with me at “66 Park” in the Brownsville-Brooklyn section of New York City. You played for five teams in your NBA career including two separate times with the Sixers. How tough is it moving from city to city with different teams especially for younger players? When I first got traded, I was devastated because I did not understand the business. I remember it clearly. I got a call at 11 p.m. one night from the GM saying I was traded, and then he hung up. I went in the next day thinking it was a joke but the GM said, “World, we traded you to the Clippers. It is not personal, but business!”. Once I understood the business, I got over it. I must admit that I tore up the league the next few years and played with a vengeance. But afterwards, I learned the business and only moved on as a free agent where I could make the most money. A lot of young players can’t deal with being traded. Many of them decline in skill and some of them are out of the league totally. It’s psychological and can mess with you. But me, I love basketball and no matter where I was playing, I was always coming home to New York anyhow. So the cities did not matter, and I could be productive because I was always coming home during the off season to Brooklyn. As the Ambassador of 76ers basketball, you are heavily involved in promoting youth recreational basketball in the Philadelphia area. Did you play in any organized youth leagues growing up, and how important are they for young boys and girls who want to develop their basketball skills? I played in youth recreation leagues in Brownsville. One of my coaches, Gil Reynonlds, is really responsible for defining my game. He was my mentor and helped me develop my jump shot. He helped me as a kid develop myself as a person. Recreational leagues are really good for kids because it puts something else in their minds. When they play against other kids they become competitive. Kids want to win and that competition helps you sharpen your skills. >> Part Two | >> Part Three
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World B. Free officially retired from the NBA in 1989 after 13 seasons. His 17,955 career points are more than old school NBA Hall of Famers such as Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Kevin McHale, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, and Lenny Wilkens. Free was a member of the 76ers from 1975 through 1978 and then returned to the Sixers during the 1986-87 season after playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Diego (now Los Angeles) Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets. Eight times in his NBA career, he averaged at least 22.3 ppg for the season and was a Second Team All-NBA selection in 1979. In 1980, Free scored a career best 30.2 ppg and made his first and only NBA All-Star Team where he started in the backcourt with Magic Johnson. He finished his NBA career with an average of 20.3 ppg.