Published on October 27th, 2020 | by Darren Paltrowitz
0Basketball Legend Spencer Haywood On The Book “The Spencer Haywood Rule,” Life After The NBA, Music, Detroit & More
When the average basketball fan hears the name “Spencer Haywood,” odds are that they think one of the basketball’s all-time greats. Prior to landing in the NBA, Haywood was both the American Basketball Association’s “Most Valuable Player” and “Rookie Of The Year” during the 1969-70 season. Other accolades of Haywood on the court include winning a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team, multiple NBA All-Star game appearances, and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame induction.
But not everyone realizes the hardship that followed Spencer Haywood before, during and after his basketball career. Fortunately the book The Spencer Haywood Rule: Battles, Basketball & The Making Of An American Iconoclast exists. Told by Haywood to authors Gary Washburn and Marc J. Spears, The Spencer Haywood Rule was released in the States earlier this month via Triumph Books. The book’s title itself is extensively-explored within the pages of this memoir, as Haywood goes in-depth about the U.S. Supreme Court decision that nearly kept him out of playing in the NBA.
On October 27, 2020, I had the pleasure of interviewing Spencer Haywood via Zoom, as embedded below. We not only discussed The Spencer Haywood Rule, but also his Mississippi roots, his love for Detroit, his success in real estate, and his musical preferences. More on the man himself can be found via www.twitter.com/SpencerHaywood, while The Spencer Haywood Rule can be ordered here.