Osie Leon Wood III (born March 25, 1962), is an American former professional basketball player. A college All-American, he was a first round NBA draft pick, and both an Olympic and Pan-Am Games gold-medalist. He subsequently has had a career as an NBA referee.
Career
A 6'3" point guard from Saint Monica Catholic High School, Wood was an All-American at California State University-Fullerton. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 10th pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft and played in six NBA seasons for six different teams: the 76ers, Washington Bullets, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.
In his NBA career, Wood played in 274 games and scored a total of 1,742 points (6.4 points per game). He was a contestant in the first NBA 3-point shootout at the All-Star Weekend in Dallas in 1986.[1] Wood had a short European professional league stint in Germany for MTV 1846 Giessen, where he was signed for the playoffs and appeared in three games, scoring a total of 77 points.[2] He also played for CAI Zaragoza (ACB League) in the 1988–1989 season. Wood played four seasons in the Continental Basketball Association, averaging 18.1 points and 8.5 assists in 118 games, being named second-team All-CBA in 1990.[3] Wood last played professional basketball in the Philippine Basketball Association in 1994, where he led the Purefoods franchise to a semifinal finish.[4]
Wood is a two-time International gold-medalist, winning at the 1983 Pan American Games and as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached by Bobby Knight. Wood averaged 7.9 assists to lead the 1984 Olympic team.[5]
He became an NBA official in 1996.[6] He has now been an official for over 30 years.[7][8]
Wood filed lawsuit against NBA for violations of antitrust laws. Both District Court and Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of NBA.[9]
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
Source[10]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | Philadelphia | 38 | 1 | 7.1 | .373 | .133 | .692 | .5 | 1.2 | .2 | .0 | 3.2 |
| 1985–86 | Philadelphia | 29 | 1 | 15.7 | .419 | .448 | .794 | .9 | 2.6 | .5 | .0 | 5.3 |
| Washington | 39 | 0 | 19.1 | .385 | .329 | .793 | 1.6 | 2.7 | .5 | .0 | 9.7 | |
| 1986–87 | New Jersey | 76 | 7 | 22.8 | .373 | .300 | .799 | 1.6 | 4.9 | .6 | .0 | 7.3 |
| 1987–88 | San Antonio | 38 | 8 | 21.8 | .426 | .398 | .758 | 1.3 | 4.1 | .6 | .0 | 9.3 |
| Atlanta | 14 | 0 | 5.6 | .533 | .474 | .875 | .4 | 1.4 | .3 | .0 | 3.4 | |
| 1989–90 | New Jersey | 28 | 2 | 7.1 | .327 | .190 | .875 | .4 | 1.7 | .2 | .0 | 1.8 |
| 1990–91 | Sacramento | 12 | 0 | 18.5 | .397 | .316 | .905 | 1.6 | 4.1 | .4 | .0 | 6.8 |
| Career | 274 | 19 | 16.5 | .392 | .326 | .792 | 1.2 | 3.2 | .5 | .0 | 6.4 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Philadelphia | 5 | 0 | 3.0 | .444 | .000 | .750 | .2 | .4 | .0 | .0 | 2.8 |
| 1986 | Washington | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .200 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 5.0 |
| 1988 | Atlanta | 4 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | – | .0 | .3 | .0 | 0 | .8 |
| Career | 10 | 0 | 2.1 | .400 | .667 | .800 | .1 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 2.2 | |
References
- ↑ Ex-PBA import now NBA ref
- ↑ 46ers Hall of Fame: Leon Wood
- ↑ 1994–95 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 358
- ↑ Notable NBA players who played in the PBA
- ↑ LOOKBACK: How the 1984 NBA Draft made an impact on the PBA
- ↑ NBA Officials: Referee Biographies
- ↑ For Ex-Sixer Leon Wood, Refereeing Is A Labor Of Love (Most Nights)
- ↑ How an NBA player turned referee created a new HBCU basketball tournament
- ↑ Wood v. National Basketball Ass'n, vol. 809, January 21, 1987, p. 954, retrieved August 22, 2019
- ↑ "Leon Wood NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com · Basketball Reference
- Italian League stats Archived January 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- "Wood Sues NBA" @ New York Times
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