Dan Issel is a retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1985. He has played for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA. In 1993, he was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Player Profile and Personal Life
Daniel Paul Issel was born on October 25, 1948, in Batavia, Illinois in the United States of America. He stands 206 cm tall and his weight was last listed at 107 kg. He is right-handed and he is a center and a power forward.
He is married to Cheri Issel, they met while attending the University of Kentucky where she was a cheerleader. Issel was close friends with future NFL player Ken Anderson.
| Position | Center |
| Height / weight | 2.06 m / 107 kg |
| Born | 25 Oct 1948 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Playing Style | Right Handed |
| Nickname | Horse |
| Team History | |
Denver
|
1975 - 1985 |
Kentucky Colonels
|
1970 - 1975 |
High School and College Career
He attended Batavia High School in Batavia, Illinois. Later, he committed to play college basketball for the University of Kentucky. He was there from 1967 to 1970.
At that time, he was named to the 1970 Consensus First-team All-American. The year before, he was also named to the Consensus second-team All-American.
Professional Career
After college, he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons of the NBA and the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA in 1970.
Issel however decided to sign with the Colonels. Issel won the 1975 ABA championship with the Colonels and was sold briefly to Baltimore Claws, after which he joined the Denver Nuggets and remained with the Nuggets through the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
Issel’s career accounts for more than 27,000 points in both ABA and NBA. The only professional basketball players to have scored more points than Issel during his retirement were three legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Julius Erving.
Issel is presently at number 7 on the all-time combined ABA/NBA scoring list.
During his 9 seasons in the NBA Issel averaged over 20 points 6 times and was also named the NBA All-Star Game once.
Throughout his 6-year ABA career, Issel led the league in total points trice, was an All-Star every year, and won an ABA Championship with the Colonels in 1975.
In 1993, he was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2006, he was named to the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Career Highlights
- 1975 - ABA champion
- 1977 - NBA All-Star
- 1971–1976 - ABA All-Star
- 1972 - ABA All-Star Game MVP
- 1972 - All-ABA First Team
- 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976 - All-ABA Second Team
- 1971 - ABA Rookie of the Year
- 1971 - ABA scoring champion
- 1985 - J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
- ABA All-Time Team
No. 44 retired by the Denver Nuggets
- 1970 - Consensus first-team All-American
- 1969 - Consensus second-team All-American
Career ABA and NBA Statistics
- Points - 27,482 (22.6 ppg)
- Rebounds - 11,133 (9.1 rpg)
Assists - 2,907 (2.4 apg)
- Basketball Hall of Fame as a player, 1993
- College Basketball Hall of Fame, 2006
Team History:
As a coach:
- 1992–1994, 1999–2001 - Denver Nuggets
