Bill Wennington

William Percey Wennington (born April 26, 1963) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics and 1983 World University Games, where the team won gold. He was also on the Canadian team that narrowly missed qualification for the 1992 Olympics. Wennington has been inducted into the Quebec Basketball Hall of Fame and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bill Wennington
Wennington looking down
Wennington in 2008
Personal information
Born (1963-04-26) April 26, 1963
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolLong Island Lutheran
(Brookville, New York)
CollegeSt. John's (1981–1985)
NBA draft1985: 1st round, 16th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career1985–2000
PositionCenter
Number23, 34, 7
Career history
1985–1990Dallas Mavericks
1990–1991Sacramento Kings
1991–1993Virtus Bologna
1993–1999Chicago Bulls
1999–2000Sacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points3,301 (4.6 ppg)
Rebounds2,148 (3.0 rpg)
Assists440 (0.6 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  Canada
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1983 Edmonton National team

Amateur career

Born in Montreal, Wennington later attended New York's Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School, where he played under coach Bob McKillop, and led the Crusaders to, at one time, a No. 1 ranking in the northeast region, and a top 10 ranking in the nation. He then was recruited to St. John's University, and he played on one NCAA Final Four team under basketball coach Lou Carnesecca.

Professional career

He was drafted 16th in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks, where he played his first several seasons. Wennington made his NBA debut on October 29, 1985.[1] On June 26, 1990, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings along with two 1990 first-round draft picks in exchange for Rodney McCray and two future second-round draft picks.[1]

Before signing as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls in 1993, he spent a few years in Italy playing for Virtus (Knorr) from Bologna. In 1998, Chicago-area McDonald's restaurants sold a sandwich named after Wennington called the Beef Wennington.[2] After the break-up of the highly successful Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, Wennington played his final NBA season with the Sacramento Kings.[1] He played alongside Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Wennington was the backup center for Luc Longley.

Post-basketball career

After his playing career ended, Wennington became a radio color commentator for the Bulls.[3] Wennington was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Bill Wennington NBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  2. Elliott Harris. "Beefing up his role - Bulls' Wennington latest burger celebrity". Chicago Sun-Times. March 8, 1998. Sports, 14.
  3. "2012-13 Chicago Bulls media guide" (PDF). I.cdn.turner.com. p. 418. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  4. "Wennington Honored With Canadian Hall of Fame Induction". Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
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