Harvey Lee Catchings (born September 2, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player.
He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 to 1985 as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers. He has NBA career averages of 3.2 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game. On December 18, 1976, Catchings scored a career-high 16 points alongside grabbing 11 rebounds in a 97–93 victory over the Indiana Pacers.[1] On April 10, 1981, Catchings blocked 5 shots in only 16 minutes during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers.[2]
He is one of 43 NBA players to have recorded at least 10 blocks in a single game. In his career, he made the Eastern Conference Finals three times (once with Philadelphia, twice with Milwaukee) and made the NBA Finals once with Philadelphia during the 1976-77 NBA season.[3]
Catchings is the all-time leader of Defensive Box Plus/Minus in Bucks franchise history at 2.6, above defensive greats such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Alvin Robertson.[4]
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia | 37 | – | 14.3 | .554 | – | .640 | 4.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia | 75 | – | 23.1 | .426 | – | .604 | 6.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia | 53 | 25 | 16.3 | .504 | – | .702 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 3.0 |
| 1977–78 | Philadelphia | 61 | 2 | 12.3 | .393 | – | .618 | 4.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| 1978–79 | Philadelphia | 25 | 4 | 11.6 | .412 | – | .765 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| 1978–79 | New Jersey | 32 | – | 20.6 | .423 | – | .770 | 6.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 6.1 |
| 1979–80 | Milwaukee | 72 | – | 19.0 | .398 | .000 | .629 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 3.2 |
| 1980–81 | Milwaukee | 77 | – | 21.2 | .447 | .000 | .641 | 6.1 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 4.2 |
| 1981–82 | Milwaukee | 80 | 9 | 20.0 | .420 | .000 | .594 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| 1982–83 | Milwaukee | 74 | 33 | 21.0 | .457 | .000 | .674 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 3.3 |
| 1983–84 | Milwaukee | 69 | 3 | 16.8 | .399 | .000 | .524 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| 1984–85 | Los Angeles | 70 | 14 | 15.0 | .483 | .000 | .663 | 3.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.9 |
| Career | 725 | 90 | 18.2 | .435 | .000 | .647 | 5.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 3.2 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia | 3 | – | 29.0 | .615 | – | .333 | 9.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 |
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia | 8 | – | 6.8 | .400 | – | .000 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| 1977–78 | Philadelphia | 7 | – | 3.7 | .375 | – | .750 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
| 1978–79 | New Jersey | 2 | – | 13.0 | .167 | – | .000 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| 1979–80 | Milwaukee | 6 | – | 10.7 | .333 | .000 | .500 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| 1980–81 | Milwaukee | 7 | – | 15.6 | .188 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| 1981–82 | Milwaukee | 6 | – | 4.3 | .667 | .000 | .000 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| 1982–83 | Milwaukee | 9 | – | 15.4 | .474 | .000 | 1.000 | 4.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 |
| 1983–84 | Milwaukee | 5 | – | 5.0 | .500 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Career | 53 | – | 10.5 | .397 | .000 | .500 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.4 | |
Personal life
Catchings is the father of WNBA former star Tamika Catchings, who played for the Indiana Fever. Catchings is currently a Reverse Mortgage Consultant with Open Mortgage-North Houston. His other daughter, Tauja, played college basketball for Illinois. His grandson through Tauja is five-star recruit Kanon Catchings who is committed to Purdue for the class of 2024.[5]
Both Harvey, and his daughter Tamika, identify as Christian.[6]
Catchings was friends with former 76ers teammate Joe Bryant, and both of their families spent time together while they each played professional basketball in Italy. Because of this, Catchings' children were childhood friends with Joe's son, Kobe Bryant.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers Box Score, December 18, 1976".
- ^ "Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, April 10, 1981".
- ^ "Harvey Catchings Stats".
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Career Leaders".
- ^ "Kanon Catchings Class of 2024 Recruit". 247Sports. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Tamika Catchings: Champ on and off the Court". 20 July 2010.
- ^ "BBC World Service – Sportsworld – Farewell to the Mamba: Kobe Bryant".
External links
- NBA statistics at basketball-reference.com