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Player profile · BOS / NYK / SFW / STL
Willie Naulls
Willie Naulls stats, teams and career impact
#149 all-timeCareer averages · 15.8 PPG · 9.1 RPG · 1.6 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Small forward
- Final NBA team
- Boston Celtics
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) · 225 lb (102 kg)
- Born
- October 7, 1934
- Died
- November 22, 2018 (84 yrs old)
- College
- UCLA
- NBA seasons
- 10 seasons · 1956–57 to 1965–66
Career summaryWillie Naulls was a small forward who played 10 NBA seasons, from 1956–57 through 1965–66.
- Career PPG
- 15.8
- Career RPG
- 9.1
- Career APG
- 1.6
- #11 in 1960–61
- #149 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Willie Naulls ranks #149 all time
Willie Naulls ranks #149 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #13.3. His full-career value ranks #386, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
450+ minutes required per season
716 games · Career Value Rank #386
NBA honors4× All-StarContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Willie Naulls with…
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- Willie Naulls vs. Kelly Tripucka Similar career path
- Willie Naulls vs. Dennis Scott Similar career path
- Willie Naulls vs. Keith Van Horn Similar career path
- Willie Naulls vs. Wally Szczerbiak Similar career path
- Willie Naulls vs. Jaylen Brown Similar career path
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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- New York Knicks, St. Louis Hawks, San Francisco Warriors, and Boston Celtics
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 40.6%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 81.2%FT%
716 career games · 20,620 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
Willie Naulls 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.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–66 | 10.7 | 4.5 | 1.0 | -1.52 | BOS | 71 | 0 | 20.2 | 40.2% | — | 79.4% | #65 | 17.6 |
| 1964–65 | 10.5 | 4.7 | 1.0 | -1.40 | BOS | 71 | 0 | 20.6 | 38.4% | — | 81.3% | #57 | 22.7 |
| 1963–64 | 9.8 | 4.6 | 0.8 | -0.01 | BOS | 78 | 0 | 18.1 | 41.7% | — | 79.6% | #26 | 73.2 |
| 1962–63 | 12.9 | 7.4 | 1.5 | -0.75 | NYK/SFW | 70 | 0 | 27.2 | 41.7% | — | 80.2% | #41 | 60.2 |
| 1961–62 | 25.0 | 11.6 | 2.6 | +1.33 | NYK | 75 | 0 | 39.7 | 41.5% | — | 84.2% | #16 | 259.6 |
| 1960–61 | 23.4 | 13.4 | 2.4 | +1.75 | NYK | 79 | 0 | 37.7 | 42.8% | — | 81.6% | #11 | 286.5 |
| 1959–60 | 21.4 | 14.2 | 2.1 | +1.81 | NYK | 65 | 0 | 34.6 | 42.8% | — | 83.6% | #13 | 225.0 |
| 1958–59 | 15.7 | 10.6 | 1.5 | -0.42 | NYK | 68 | 0 | 30.3 | 37.8% | — | 83.0% | #36 | 80.0 |
| 1957–58 | 18.1 | 11.8 | 1.4 | +0.41 | NYK | 68 | 0 | 34.8 | 39.7% | — | 82.6% | #29 | 144.6 |
| 1956–57 | 10.1 | 8.7 | 1.2 | -1.57 | NYK/STL | 71 | 0 | 25.0 | 35.7% | — | 67.7% | #61 | 17.6 |
| Career | 15.8 | 9.1 | 1.6 | — | BOS/NYK/SFW/STL | 716 | — | 28.8 | 40.6% | — | 81.2% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- 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.
19.5 composite · lower is better
19.0 average league finish
1,187 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How Willie Naulls 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 Score19.5
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
- 85.0
- Qualified seasons
- 10
- All-time rank
- #149
Strongest seasons
Every season
Willie Naulls 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
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–66Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 31 | 71 | 1,433 | -1.52 | 31.2 | #65 | 17.6 | 30th | Modeled |
| 1964–65Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 30 | 71 | 1,465 | -1.40 | 37.1 | #57 | 22.7 | 36th | Modeled |
| 1963–64Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 29 | 78 | 1,409 | -0.01 | 72.8 | #26 | 73.2 | 60th | Modeled |
| 1962–63Historical Defense Estimate | NYK/SFW | 28 | 70 | 1,901 | -0.75 | 56.0 | #41 | 60.2 | 58th | Modeled |
| 1961–62Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 27 | 75 | 2,978 | +1.33 | 82.6 | #16 | 259.6 | 85th | Modeled |
| 1960–61Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 26 | 79 | 2,976 | +1.75 | 87.3 | #11 | 286.5 | 90th | Modeled |
| 1959–60Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 25 | 65 | 2,250 | +1.81 | 84.6 | #13 | 225.0 | 82nd | Modeled |
| 1958–59Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 24 | 68 | 2,061 | -0.42 | 56.3 | #36 | 80.0 | 66th | Modeled |
| 1957–58Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 23 | 68 | 2,369 | +0.41 | 63.2 | #29 | 144.6 | 74th | Modeled |
| 1956–57Historical Defense Estimate | NYK/STL | 22 | 71 | 1,778 | -1.57 | 24.1 | #61 | 17.6 | 28th | Modeled |
Career movement
Willie Naulls's box impact by season
Peak box impact +1.81 points per 100 possessions in 1959–60 · 10 seasons · 20,620 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutesModeled estimate
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.
Willie NaullsKelly Tripucka
| NBA season | Willie Naulls | Kelly Tripucka |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | -1.6 | -0.1 |
| 2 | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| 3 | -0.4 | -0.5 |
| 4 | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| 5 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| 6 | 1.3 | -0.0 |
| 7 | -0.7 | -1.1 |
| 8 | -0.0 | 1.3 |
| 9 | -1.4 | -0.9 |
| 10 | -1.5 | -0.9 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Willie Naulls
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.
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95career similarity score
91/100 closest-season score · 1959–60 ↔ 1993–94SF · All-Time Career #949Keith Van Horn
94career similarity score
95/100 closest-season score · 1959–60 ↔ 2001–02Impact 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 →