Hall of Fame forward Cliff Hagan, a five-time All-Star who spent his entire NBA career with the St. Louis Hawks, has died at age 94. The University of Kentucky, where Hagan starred in college and later served as athletics director, announced his death on Friday.
Many NBA fans know Hagan as one of the players on the wrong side of the most lopsided trade in league history, but he was also a star. Using his impressive hook shot, he averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 rebounds over a 10-year NBA career. Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, he played for legendary coach Adolph Rupp at Kentucky and helped lead the Wildcats to the 1951 NCAA title with an 86-5 record during his time at the school. His single-game scoring record of 51 points stood at Kentucky until 1970.
Hagan was drafted in the third round of the 1953 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics but never played for the team. After two years in the military, he was traded in April 1956, along with Ed Macauley, to the Hawks for the right to draft future Hall of Fame center Bill Russell. Russell went on to lead the Celtics on a historic championship run, winning nine of the next 10 titles. The run was interrupted in 1958, when Hagan and fellow Hall of Famer Bob Pettit led the Hawks to the NBA championship by beating Russell and the Celtics in the Finals. Hagan averaged a league-best 27.7 postseason points during that championship run and led the Hawks to the Finals in four of his first five seasons in St. Louis.
Hagan finished his professional career as player-coach for the ABA's Dallas Chaparrals, becoming the first player in history to be an All-Star in both leagues. In 1978, he became the first Kentucky player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing