These days I smile benignly at the fights that I see in NBA games. There aren't any broken noses or black eyes, which happened quite often when I played.

That seemed to be the case with most of the teams based in the smaller towns - the fans were more rabid, and they wanted to literally kill the opposition.

Cooper was my road roommate, and also happened to be the first African American player drafted by a National Basketball Association team.

My biggest win was getting the meal money bumped from $5 to $7.

Bob Brannum was my body guard on the court. He was 6'-6 and built like a bulldog.

The MVP award was very satisfying in terms of personal accomplishments, but the championship was the most important thing of all.

We had a strong relationship with Walter Brown, and felt that he was the best owner in the league.