050 - Billy Knight

Mr. Smooth … Gliding from baseline to baseline. Making it look easy … No highlight reels—mid-range jumpers just aren’t flashy … As a kid, practiced shooting at the park. Until dark. “The only way you could tell it was in the basket was to hear the nets ripple.” … Not a classic square-up jump shooter. “I can hit better off balance.” … Shooting philosophy: “If I have a shot, I’ll take it. If I don’t, I’ll kick it back out and look for somebody that is open.” … Must’ve shot enough. Finished second in ABA scoring at 28.1, behind only Dr. J. And runner-up to Pistol Pete in the NBA the next year at 26.6 ... “I don’t consider myself a streak shooter but I do have streaks when everything I throw up goes in.” … Career-best .534 as a rookie in ’74-75. Above 49 percent for 10 straight seasons. Lifetime .507 … Never satisfied. “I could average 40 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists per game and still want to do better.” … George McGinnis: “He doesn’t get all excited. He just takes his time, waits for the good shot, goes to the boards, makes the steal.” … Yet few noticed. “I know I don’t get enough recognition. There’s nothing I can do about it.” … Didn’t make waves. “If I did that, I could get my name in headlines, but that’s not my style.” … “He could get along with Attila the Hun,” Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan once wrote … Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached him at three stops, would've probably agreed: “If there's a nicer person than Billy Knight I want to meet him.” … Teammate Don Buse: “Maybe too nice.” … Saw the good even when the subject was Marvin “Bad News” Barnes. “You hear a lot about some of the crazy, wild things Marvin is supposed to have done, but I haven’t seen any of that. I found him to be just a nice guy, nothing wild.” … Grew his hair out after turning pro. “Because I thought it would help me be meaner. It hasn’t. I guess it’s what you have in your heart.” … Didn’t drink. Didn’t smoke. Didn’t curse. “The only bad habits I do have is to bite my fingernails and probably stay up late and watch too much TV.” … Heck, he even liked living in Indianapolis. “People don’t like it there because there wasn’t much to do in the way of night life, but it was just fine with me.” … Grew up in Braddock—a steel town on the Monongahela, 10 miles downriver from Pittsburgh. Home to Andrew Carnegie’s first mill—the Edgar Thomson Works. Last one standing. Still pushing smoke and steam into the blue sky … Pops worked in the mills until his dying days. Mom took care of the kids—eleven in all. “We didn’t have all the luxuries of life.” No matter. “Those were the best years of my life.” … Played his high school ball at Braddock High. Averaged 22 and 17 over three varsity seasons. All-State as a senior. Represented the Pennsylvania All-Stars in the ’70 Dapper Dan Classic in Pittsburgh … Two hundred schools recruited him. Didn’t stray far. Chose Pitt. “I wanted my family to see me play.” … Only Pitt player to average 20 and 10 in all three of his seasons. Led the Panthers to a 24-5 finish as a senior in ’73-74, including a school-best 22 straight wins and an Elite Eight date with David Thompson and NC State—the eventual national champs … Pacers first-rounder in the ’74 ABA Draft. Lakers second-rounder in the NBA’s grab bag … “The Pacers just offered an overall better contract. It wasn’t just the money, but the security and things like that.” … Terms weren’t disclosed, but the numbers leaked anyway—they always did: a no-cut $1 million deal over five years. His agent Herb Rudoy called it “one of the great deals I’ve seen.” … ABA All-Rookie in ’74-75. Averaged 17.1 and 7.9 in the regular season, then 24.1 and 8.9 across 18 playoff games—a run that ended with a Finals loss to Kentucky … Two all-star nods followed, one in each league … The Pacers tried to renegotiate his rookie contract before the ’77-78 season but couldn't meet his agent's demands. So Indiana shipped him to Buffalo for Adrian Dantley and Mike Bantom. Trade shocked him. “I had planned to finish my career here. I thought I was doing a good job.” … Averaged 22.9 for the Braves, made his final All-Star team, then suffered a season-ending knee injury. Torn cartilage … On the move again for the second straight off-season. This time traded to Boston in a multi-player deal that involved owners swapping teams and the Braves moving to San Diego. A trade so shocking Red Auerbach considered bolting. Marvin saw it differently, of course: Biggest steal in Boston since “the Brink's Robbery.” … His stay in Boston, though, was brief—just 40 games. “I just didn't fit in there. I’m an old ABA player and the people here think of Indianapolis as a country town.” … Traded back to the Pacers for Rick Robey, who’d become Larry Bird’s running mate … Glad to be back in Indiana? “Overjoyed.” … Some argued he’d lost a step ... Could still fill it up. Nov. 11, ’80, HemisFair Arena: Poured in a career-high 52 points (19-of-30, 14-of-16) against the Iceman and the Spurs, scoring 35 points in the second half ... Had four other 40-point performances after the injury—three of them in ’82-83, his lone season as captain … Wound up in Kansas City before ’83-84. “I would be remiss if I were to say I wanted to go.” Closed it out in San Antonio the following season, playing just 12 minutes a night. Wasn’t happy; didn’t complain. “I have to go with the flow.” … Born William R. Knight, on June 9, 1952. But everyone calls him Billy. Also nicknamed Mooney because of his last name … Brother Terry played at Pitt, too … After hanging up his sneakers? Front office exec with the Pacers, GM of the Grizzlies, then Director of Basketball Ops for the Hawks. Retired in ’08 … Somehow wasn’t named to the ABA’s 30-year all-time squad … Pitt retired his No. 34 jersey in ’89; it hangs in the Petersen Events Center rafters. Inducted into the Pitt Athletics HOF inaugural class in ’18, and the WPIAL Hall in ’19 … “If you saw me play, you’re telling your age.”

Sourcing: Anderson Herald, 7/30/1974 [quickness and agility], 12/25/1976 [didn’t want to spend 50 years working in a steel mill]; Atlanta Constitution, 4/6/2023 [Grizzlies GM, then Hawks Director of Basketball Ops]; Bedford Times-Mail, 12/9/1976; Boston Evening Globe, 8/9/1978 [JY Brown called him pure shooter, unselfish], 10/6/1978 [rebounding]; Boston Globe, 7/8/1978 [Sanders comparison to Dandridge], 7/9/1978 [quotes re practice, hardworking], 8/11/1978 [press conference], 10/15/1978 [recovery from season-ending knee injury; class guy], 10/24/1978 [liked living in Indianapolis; Attila the Hun quote; medium-range jumper; defensive liability], 10/29/1978 [too casual; plays at 45 RPM], 12/5/1978 [Knight on shooting], 1/17/1979 [Knight’s didn’t fit quote; Stacom quote re ISO; didn’t enjoy sitting on bench]; Buffalo News, 9/7/1977 [saw the good in Bad News Barnes]; 1/28/1978 [doesn’t go our much; no discos or nightclubs], 3/23/1978 [knee surgery 13 days prior], 7/28/1978 [Barnes: biggest steal since the Brink’s robbery], 8/9/1978 [Knight on Boston-Buffalo trade]; Cleveland Press, 12/17/1976 [move to backcourt will prolong career]; Elkhart Truth, 1/6/1977 [Slickk: Knight can play any place; competes every night]; Flint Journal, 1/12/1980 [52-point game]; Indiana Gazette, 1/17/1978 [I could get my name in headlines quote]; Indianapolis News, 1/7/1977 [always been able to shoot; no one instructed me on how to shoot], 2/19/1977 [Braddock; could call it a ghetto; so small you knew everyone; only bad habits], 12/6/1978 [torn cartilage].10/28/1982 [captain], 9/19/1983 [remiss to say I wanted to go]; Indianapolis Star, 1/17/1977 [Doug Moe: helluva player]; 9/2/1977 [planned to finish career with Pacers]; 1/15/1978 [Buse quote; doesn’t get enough recognition; Brown quote re player build championship around]; 7/12/1978 [trade so shocking Auerbach considered bolting], 10/29/1982 [captain]; Kansas City Times, 10/27/1983 [won tennis championship], 2/5/1985; New Castle News, 7/30/1974 [$1 million multi-year, no-cut deal]; Pittsburgh Press, 3/4/1970 [High school coach re born for this game], 5/19/1970 [recruited by 200 schools; averaged 22 and 17 over 3 seasons], 7/13/1978 [Buffalo, Boston trade], 12/29/1991 [quick first step, feathery outside shot], 4/17/1980 [relationship with Slick]; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/27/1970 [three-year stats at Braddock High], 12/12/1971 [one of most sought-after players in country; three year stats for Braddock High], 1/30/1975 [grew out hair to appear meaner; didn’t work], 1/10/1991 [close-knit family; luxuries of life; best years of my life], 5/13/1975 [Braddock details], 5/20/1998 [Pacers VP of Basketball Ops], 1/25/2013 [college stats, records], 2/19/2016 [WPIAL game scoring mark with 41], 5/4/2018 [Pitt HOF], 7/27/2018, 2/22/2019 [WPIAL HOF], 2/12/2021 [Pitt basketball program stats], 12/21/2025 [Andrew Carnegie; Monongahela steel mill]; San Antonio Express-News, 1/16/1977 [“I could average 40 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists per game and still want to do better.”]; San Antonio Light, 12/12/1984 [Scored 52 against Gervin in 1980], 2/3/1985 [astronomical salaries quote], 6/30/1985 [not losing sleep over not being offered a contract for next season]; Shreveport Journal, 10/24/1974 [players drinking Hi-C instead of beer because of Knight]; Star Press, 4/15/2000 [jobs after basketball]; Sun-Journal, 1/7/2008 [Robey was Bird’s drinking buddy]; Tampa Tribune, 1/7/1978 [He’s better than David Thompson]; Winston Salem Journal, 4/15/2000; Basketball Digest (April 1975); Boston Celtics Media Guide (1978-79); Buffalo Braves: Fram A to Z (Bailey & Tranter, 2023) [lost a step]; Buffalo Braves Media Guide (1977-78); Indiana Pacers Media Guides (1975-76, 1991-92); Kansas City Kings Media Guide (1983-84); Pitt Basketball Media Guides (1972-73, 1973-74); youtube.com, accessed 7/6/2026; youtube.com, accessed 7/6/2026.