About Billy Cunningham
William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (nine as player, eight as coach), and two seasons as a player with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA. One of basketball's all-time greats, Cunningham was elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and honored by selection to both the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams as one of its legendary players, as well as to the ABA All-Time Team. He was further honored in 1990 when he was selected as part of the 1st class to enter the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Cunningham was All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year, and an All-American in college, later named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty best players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. As a professional he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, an NBA All-Star, All-NBA First and Second Team, an ABA All-Star, All-ABA First Team, and the ABA Most Valuable Player. He was an NBA champion both as a player (1967) and as a coach (1983). Cunningham was Smith's first true star player. He once grabbed a record 27 rebounds in a game vs.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.