Gene Wiley died; the former Lakers center reached the NBA Finals thrice
Center Gene Wiley, whose four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers took him to the NBA Finals three times, died June 21. He was 88.
Fortunately, Wiley’s brief NBA career brought him closer to a championship than many more seasoned players. Unfortunately, it overlapped with that of Boston Celtics counterpart Bill Russell. When Wiley’s Lakers reached the Finals in 1963, 1964 and 1966, the Celtics were riding a streak of eight consecutive championships (1959-66), and defeated Los Angeles each time.
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Wiley was raised in Amarillo, Texas, and became a standout center at Wichita State from 1959-62. A giant for his era at 6-foot-11, Wiley earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in 1961 and 1962 on the strength of his rebounding and shot-blocking abilities. Wichita State inducted Wiley into its Hall of Fame in 1981.
The Lakers chose Wiley with the 17th overall pick in the 1962 NBA draft. Although he was never the star on Lakers teams led by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Wiley saved his best for the playoffs.
In 27 playoff games, Wiley averaged 26.3 minutes, .505 field-goal shooting and 10.1 rebounds — all better than his regular-season averages.
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Wiley retired after the 1965-66 season with career averages of 4.2 points and 7.3 rebounds and per game. His 14 rebounds in a single quarter against the New York Knicks on Nov. 5, 1962 still stand as a Lakers team record.
Wiley attempted a comeback in 1967-68 in the American Basketball Association. But after playing nine games — eight with the Oakland Oaks, one with the Dallas Chaparrals — his professional basketball career was officially over.
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Wiley’s second career had already begun. While still on campus in Wichita, he began painting illustrative art, a passion that would land his work in gallery exhibits for the rest of his life.
In his 1990 memoir “Spanning the Game,” former Wichita State coach Ralph Miller wrote of Wiley, “Gene was a classy young man. Next to Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, he was probably the best shot-blocker in America. He was a great defensive player.”
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