Joel Kramer

Summary

Joel Bruce Kramer (born October 30, 1955) is a retired American professional basketball player. Listed at 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) and 203 pounds (92 kg), he played the power forward and center positions. After playing college basketball at San Diego State University, he had a five-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 19781983 with the Phoenix Suns.

Joel Kramer
Personal information
Born (1955-11-30) November 30, 1955 (age 68)
San Diego, California, U. S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High schoolPatrick Henry (San Diego, California)
CollegeSan Diego State (1974–1978)
NBA draft1978: 3rd round, 63rd overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career1978–1984
PositionPower forward / center
Number50
Career history
19781983Phoenix Suns
1983–1984Maccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points1,257 (3.8 ppg)
Rebounds916 (2.8 rpg)
Assists343 (1.0 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life edit

Kramer was born in San Diego, California, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] He attended Patrick Henry High School in San Diego.[1] There, he played for the basketball team and was League Player of the Year and All-California Interscholastic Federation his senior season.[4]

Basketball career edit

Kramer played college basketball on a basketball scholarship at San Diego State University, during which he averaged 9.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .521 from the field.[1] After recovering from a broken foot, he averaged over 9 rebounds per game his last two seasons.[5] In 1977–78, he set a school consecutive free throw record of 33.[6] As a senior, he was named 1978 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Player of the Year.[4][5]

He played basketball for Team USA at the 1977 Maccabiah Games, winning a gold medal.[4]

Kramer was selected with the 19th pick of the third round by the Phoenix Suns in the 1978 NBA draft.[1] He had a five-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 19781983, primarily at center and power forward.[1] In his rookie season, he played in 82 games, tying for the NBA lead, and in 1980–81 he was third in the NBA with 82 games played.[1]

After playing for the Suns, Kramer continued his playing career in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv, for whom he played for just a few months after signing for a reported $100,000 a year.[7][8] He was released in January 1984.[8]

Post-playing career edit

Kramer was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.[4] He was inducted into the San Diego Aztecs Hall of Fame in 1997.[5]

Kramer has held executive roles with CBIZ, an American accounting and financial services firm, working as the managing director of the Phoenix office's tax division as of October 2022.[9]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Joel Kramer Stats | Basketball-Reference.com
  2. ^ Day by Day in Jewish Sports History – Bob Wechsler
  3. ^ The 100 Greatest Jews in Sports: Ranked According to Achievement – B. P. Robert Stephen Silverman
  4. ^ a b c d Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home
  5. ^ a b c GoAztecs.com
  6. ^ "BYU Hands the Aztecs a Bitter Loss: College basketball: SDSU's conference opener slips away in the second half. Cougars win, 73–61." – latimes
  7. ^ AJHS honors state's Jewish athletes Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, January 5, 2001
  8. ^ a b "Tel Aviv Basketball Team Releases Highly Touted Player from the U.S." | Jewish Telegraphic Agency
  9. ^ "Joel B. Kramer". cbiz.com. Retrieved October 31, 2022.

External links edit

  • NBA stats @ basketballreference.com