Position : Forward
Jump - shooting Joe Fulks turned professionalbasketballupside down in the 1940s . Before Fulks , one - handed and two - handed go under shot were the norm . Fulks did n’t formulate the jump pip , but he was the first to expend it extensively in the pro . double he head the Basketball Association of America in marking , and in 1949 – the class before the BAA changed its name to the NBA – he score 63 point in a game , a record book that stood for a decennary .
A 6'5 " whippet , Fulks shot with reckless wantonness , even casting turnaround 20- footnote if the mood was right-hand . In each of his first three pro seasons , before the coming of the 24 - second shot clock , he led the league with intimately 30 effort a game . During the 1946 - 47 time of year , he averaged 23.2 point , an heart - pop amount for the era and 6.4 points more than his nigh chaser in the marking race .
support October 26 , 1921 , in Birmingham , Kentucky , Fulks played in relative abstruseness at Murray State , then left for a three - year go in themilitary . Meanwhile , Eddie Gottlieb had formed thePhiladelphiaWarriors and was appear for histrion . Advised that Fulks could assist , Gottlieb bless him to a contract in 1946 . With Fulks pass the bang , the warrior beat the Chicago Stags 4 - 1 for the BAA championship in the spring of 1947 . Fulks scored 37 pointedness in the first biz of the series and 34 in the last .
On February 10 , 1949 , Fulks efface the one - secret plan marking record with 63 points against the Indianapolis Jets . That fall guy lasted until 1959 , when Elgin Baylor scored 64 . Fulks ’s effort assist secure him a spot on the 1948 - 49 all - conference squad , which also included George Mikan , Jim Pollard , Max Zaslofsky , and Bobby Davies .
Five days later , Fulks was out of hoops . His scoring average degenerate steady after his 30th birthday , lead him to retire from the warrior in 1954 with a career average of 16.4 points per game . He was name to the NBA ’s Silver Anniversary Team in 1970 and was elect to the Hall of Fame in 1977 , a year after his expiry .
