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Player profile · PHI
Billy Cunningham
Billy Cunningham stats, teams and career impact
#144 all-timeCareer averages · 20.8 PPG · 10.1 RPG · 4.0 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Small forward
- Final NBA team
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) · 210 lb (95 kg)
- Born
- June 3, 1943 (83 yrs old)
- College
- UNC
- NBA seasons
- 9 seasons · 1965–66 to 1975–76
Career summaryBilly Cunningham was a small forward who played 9 NBA seasons, from 1965–66 through 1975–76.
- Career PPG
- 20.8
- Career RPG
- 10.1
- Career APG
- 4.0
- #9 in 1971–72
- #144 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Billy Cunningham ranks #144 all time
Billy Cunningham ranks #144 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #10.7. His full-career value ranks #207, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
450+ minutes required per season
654 games · Career Value Rank #207
NBA honors4× All-Star · 4× All-NBAContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Billy Cunningham with…
Ten suggested matchups, selected from familiar debates, similar careers, and players from the same era. Compare career impact, peak seasons, and the numbers behind the result.
- Rodney McCray Similar career path
- Greg Ballard Similar career path
- Chris Morris Similar career path
- Pascal Siakam Similar career path
- Paul Arizin Similar career path
- Billy Knight Similar career path
- Jerry Sloan Same-era comparison
- Jeff Mullins Same-era comparison
- Zelmo Beaty Same-era comparison
- Gus Johnson Same-era comparison
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Philadelphia 76ers
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 44.6%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 72.0%FT%
654 career games · 22,406 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Billy Cunningham stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| 1975–76 | 13.7 | 7.3 | 5.3 | +1.32 | PHI | 20 | 20 | 32.0 | 41.0% | — | 77.3% | #40 | 47.6 |
| 1974–75 | 19.5 | 9.1 | 5.5 | +2.48 | PHI | 80 | 73 | 35.7 | 42.8% | — | 77.7% | #15 | 275.8 |
| 1971–72 | 23.3 | 12.2 | 5.9 | +3.39 | PHI | 75 | 75 | 38.7 | 46.1% | — | 71.2% | #9 | 377.3 |
| 1970–71 | 23.0 | 11.7 | 4.9 | +2.67 | PHI | 81 | 80 | 38.1 | 46.2% | — | 73.4% | #10 | 347.9 |
| 1969–70 | 26.1 | 13.6 | 4.3 | +2.30 | PHI | 81 | 0 | 39.4 | 46.9% | — | 72.9% | #13 | 346.2 |
| 1968–69 | 24.8 | 12.8 | 3.5 | +0.08 | PHI | 82 | 0 | 40.8 | 42.6% | — | 73.7% | #49 | 174.8 |
| 1967–68 | 18.9 | 7.6 | 2.5 | +0.02 | PHI | 74 | 0 | 28.1 | 43.8% | — | 72.3% | #52 | 108.5 |
| 1966–67 | 18.5 | 7.3 | 2.5 | -0.37 | PHI | 81 | 0 | 26.8 | 45.9% | — | 68.6% | #39 | 90.3 |
| 1965–66 | 14.3 | 7.5 | 2.6 | -0.72 | PHI | 80 | 0 | 26.7 | 42.6% | — | 63.4% | #44 | 69.7 |
| Career | 20.8 | 10.1 | 4.0 | — | PHI | 654 | — | 34.3 | 44.6% | — | 72.0% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Billy Cunningham highlights
Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.
Archive highlights
Billy Cunningham's top career plays
Billy Cunningham's archive highlights adds visual context to the numbers on this page, especially his rebounding, driving and athletic forward play in the 1960s and 1970s. The vetted footage complements the season tables and impact model.
What these measures mean
- Era-centered box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average.
- Impact Rate Rank
- The player's place among qualified players in one season.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
18.8 composite · lower is better
17.2 average league finish
1,838 total value
Career standing
How Billy Cunningham ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score18.8
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- —
- Qualified seasons
- 9
- All-time rank
- #144
Strongest seasons
Every season
Billy Cunningham advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| 1975–76Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 32 | 20 | 640 | +1.32 | 79.3 | #40 | 47.6 | 52nd | Standard |
| 1974–75Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 31 | 80 | 2,859 | +2.48 | 92.5 | #15 | 275.8 | 93rd | Broad |
| 1971–72Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 28 | 75 | 2,900 | +3.39 | 95.1 | #9 | 377.3 | 96th | Modeled |
| 1970–71Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 27 | 81 | 3,090 | +2.67 | 94.6 | #10 | 347.9 | 95th | Modeled |
| 1969–70Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 26 | 81 | 3,194 | +2.30 | 91.5 | #13 | 346.2 | 94th | Modeled |
| 1968–69Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 25 | 82 | 3,345 | +0.08 | 63.9 | #49 | 174.8 | 74th | Modeled |
| 1967–68Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 24 | 74 | 2,076 | +0.02 | 57.5 | #52 | 108.5 | 61st | Modeled |
| 1966–67Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 23 | 81 | 2,168 | -0.37 | 62.0 | #39 | 90.3 | 64th | Modeled |
| 1965–66Historical Defense Estimate | PHI | 22 | 80 | 2,134 | -0.72 | 53.8 | #44 | 69.7 | 58th | Modeled |
Career movement
Billy Cunningham's career impact by season
Peak +3.39 in 1971–72 · 9 seasons · 22,406 minutes
The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. The vertical scale adapts to this player's range and always includes zero.
Era-centered box impactMinutesModeled estimate
—’73
—’74
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Billy CunninghamRodney McCray
| NBA season | Billy Cunningham | Rodney McCray |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | -0.7 | 0.5 |
| 2 | -0.4 | 2.2 |
| 3 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| 4 | 0.1 | 2.8 |
| 5 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| 6 | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| 7 | 3.4 | 2.4 |
| 8 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| 9 | 1.3 | -0.4 |
| 10 | Did not play | -3.4 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Billy Cunningham
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
SF · All-Time Career #342
Rodney McCray
92career similarity score
93/100 closest-season score · 1971–72 ↔ 1989–90SF · All-Time Career #236Greg Ballard
92career similarity score
97/100 closest-season score · 1971–72 ↔ 1981–82SF · All-Time Career #356Chris Morris
91career similarity score
90/100 closest-season score · 1971–72 ↔ 1992–93Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →