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Calvin Murphy is a hall of fame professional basketball player who played guard for the Houston Rockets from 1970-1983. He is currently employed by the Rockets organization where he is involved in broadcasting.
Early Life and High School (1948-1966)
Murphy was born May 9 1948, in Norwalk, CT. He played basketball for Norwalk High School, where he was All-State 1964-66 and All-America 1965-66.
College (1967-1970)
He then attended Niagara University, where he was a four year letter winner, a two time consensus first team All-America (1969-70), and consensus second team All-America (1968). He scored 2,548 points in 77 games (33.1 ppg), which is fourth best in NCAA history. In 1970, he led Niagara to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round, where they lost to Villanova.
NBA (1970-1983)
Calvin Murphy was drafted by the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets) as the first pick in the second round (18th overall) of the 1970 NBA draft. In his first season, Murphy was nominated to the NBA All-Rookie team. A diminuitive (at 5'9") guard, Murphy was known for his quickness and defensive ability. He was one of the best free-throw shooters ever, setting the NBA record for most consecutive free throws made, as well as setting a record for the highest free throw percentage in 1980-1981. He set many impressive records within the Rockets organization, including that of all-time leading scorer until that record was broken in 1994 by Hakeem Olajuwon. The Rockets made it to the NBA Finals in 1981, losing to the Boston Celtics in six games. After retiring from the NBA in 1983, Calvin Murphy was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Personal Life
Murphy was married to Vernetta Murphy, with whom he had three daughters. He has 14 children born to nine women.
Post-NBA
After retirement, Calvin Murphy continued to work for the Rockets organization in numerous roles, but publically he was most well-known for being the television analyst for Rockets games. His voice was also featured in the video game NBA Live 2003 where he was color commentator.
In September 2004, five of Murphy's daughters claimed that they were sexually abused by Murphy as children, and Murphy was charged with three counts each of oral sex on a defenceless child and aggravated sexual assault. He weakly denied these charges but he was later acquitted in a jury trial, although there is speculation that some jury members and a judge were bought off. Still, as a result of the allegations, Murphy's job with the Houston Rockets organization was terminated.
Stats and Accomplishments
- Height: 5'9"
- Inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
- Jersey #23 retired by the Houston Rockets.
- NBA Record: Free Throw Percentage, All-Time - Tied for 3rd, 3445 of 3864 (89.2%)
- NBA Record: Highest Free Throw Percentage in a Season - 1st, 206 of 215 (95.8%) in 1980-1
- NBA Record: Consecutive Free Throws Made - 4th, 78 (Dec 27, 1980 - Feb 28, 1981)
- NBA All-Rookie Team: 1971
- NBA All-Star Team: 1979
- Games played; 1,022
- Career points: 17,949 (17.9 ppg)
- Career steals: 1,165
- Career assists: 4,402 (4.4 apg)
- Career high points: 57 (against San Antonio Spurs, 1981)
- 1000-point seasons: 11
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