Brief Biography of NBA Legend Dave Bing and His Career

Dave Bing was born on November 24, 1943 in Washington, D.C. After a very successful high school basketball career at Spingarn High School, Bing took his game to the college level at Syracuse University. Bing led the Syracuse to much success and set the school scoring record at 1,883 points.

As a senior in 1966, Bing averaged 28.4 points per game and was named an All-American. His number, 22, has been retired to the rafters for the Orangemen. With this success at the highest collegiate level, Bing took his game to the pros.

Dave Bing was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the second overall pick in the 1966 NBA Draft. Bing would play for the Pistons for nine seasons and become a star. In his rookie year, Bing averaged 20.0 points and 4.1 assists per game. He won the Rookie of the Year Award.

His best season for the Pistons would come in 1967-1968 when he averaged 27.1 points and 6.1 assists per game. It was during this season that he led the entire NBA in scoring. Bing never had much success in the NBA playoffs as he never made it past the second round.

Dave Bing was known for his wiry frame and silky-smooth play. He had very sound fundamentals but also extreme athleticism which allowed him to dominate defenders night in and night out.

In 1971, Dave Bing experienced a horrific eye injury, a detached retina, which almost ended his basketball career for good. He already had poor vision from an accident he experienced as a child.

In 1975, Bing was traded to the Washington Bullets where he would spend two seasons. His best season with the Bullets was the 1975-1976 season where he averaged 16.2 points and 6.0 assists per game. It was becoming clear, however, that Bing's career was winding down.

In 1977 Bing was traded yet again to the Boston Celtics where he would finish out his career. He appeared for Boston in 80 games during the 1977-1978 season but only averaged 13.6 points per game.