James W. Caldwell (January 28, 1943 – April 6, 2023) was an American professional basketball player. He attended Lawrenceburg high school in Indiana[1] before playing college basketball for the Georgia Institute of Technology.[2][3]
Caldwell was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the third round (28th pick overall) of the 1965 NBA draft. He played for the Wilmington Blue Bombers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) from 1965 to 1967[4] and won EPBL championships with the Blue Bombers in 1966[5] and 1967.[6] Caldwell played for the New York Knicks (1967–68) in the NBA for two games and for the New Jersey Americans (1967–68) and Kentucky Colonels[7] (1967–68, 1968–69) in the ABA for 135 games.
Caldwell died from a heart condition on April 6, 2023, at the age of 80.[8]
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 |
NBA/ABA
Source[9]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–68 | New York (NBA) | 2 | 3.5 | .000 | – | .5 | .5 | .0 | |
| 1967–68 | New Jersey (ABA) | 12 | 21.8 | .348 | – | .455 | 7.1 | .9 | 4.7 |
| 1967–68 | Kentucky (ABA) | 58 | 27.3 | .426 | .167 | .618 | 9.4 | 2.3 | 8.4 |
| 1968–69 | Kentucky (ABA) | 65 | 19.0 | .438 | .111 | .674 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 6.5 |
| Career | 137 | 22.5 | .423 | .133 | .631 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 7.1 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–68 | Kentucky (ABA) | 5 | 35.0 | .431 | – | .700 | 11.8 | 2.6 | 11.6 |
| 1968–69 | Kentucky (ABA) | 7 | 9.0 | .267 | – | .429 | 3.0 | .7 | 1.6 |
| Career | 12 | 19.8 | .394 | – | .630 | 6.7 | 1.6 | 5.8 | |
References
- ^ "South All-Stars hope their size will overpower the north in cage series". The Herald. May 20, 1961. p. 7. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Frank Bailes (March 3, 1963). "Tech's Caldwell heads All-SEC soph team". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. D4. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bill Clark (February 17, 1964). "Big Jim escaped peril, 'rebounded' to heights". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 23. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jim Caldwell minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ "1965-66 Wilmington Blue Bombers Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ "1966-67 Wilmington Blue Bombers Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ David C. Adams (December 1, 1967). "Colonels get Jim Caldwell for Johnson". The Courier-Journal. p. B5. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jim Buchberger (April 18, 2023). "Ex-Georgia Tech, ABA player Jim Caldwell passes". Register Publications. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ "Jim Caldwell NBA & ABA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
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