Frank Selvy

Frank Selvy
Frank Selvy
Born	Franklin Delano Selvy; 9 November 1932 (age 94); Corbin, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	13 August 2024 (aged 91); Simpsonville, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Professional basketball player, basketball coach
Years active	1954–1964 (player), 1964–1970 (coach)
Known for	Scoring 100 points in a Division I college basketball game; NBA All-Star selections; coaching at Furman University

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Frank Selvy, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 28 November 2025

Franklin Delano Selvy (November 9, 1932 – August 13, 2024) was a prominent American National Basketball Association (NBA) athlete, celebrated for his historic achievement of scoring 100 points in a Division I college basketball contest. Originating from Corbin, Kentucky, Selvy distinguished himself as an All-State athlete at Corbin High School, where he played alongside College Football Hall of Famer Roy Kidd. Selected as the first overall pick in the 1954 NBA draft, Selvy enjoyed a nine-year professional tenure and earned two selections as an NBA All-Star.

Early life

Born on November 9, 1932, in Corbin, Kentucky to John Robert Selvy, a coal miner, and Iva Selvy, Franklin was named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was raised in a modest two-bedroom residence with nine siblings. At age twelve, he worked seasonally as a migrant tomato harvester in Indiana. During his time at Corbin High School, Selvy thrived under coach Harry Taylor’s guidance, securing MVP accolades in multiple all-star contests despite limited court time due to employment obligations.

College career

Following high school graduation, Selvy enrolled at Furman University, where he earned the title of Southern Conference Player of the Year twice and was recognized twice as an All American. Initially standing six feet tall, scholarship offers from Kentucky and Western Kentucky were declined. After growing three inches and being named MVP at the Kentucky East-West All-Star Game, Kentucky extended a scholarship offer; however, Selvy remained loyal to Furman, influenced by coach Lyles Alley’s recruitment efforts and the presence of former Corbin High teammates.

In the 1951–52 season, Selvy averaged 24.6 points per game while leading Furman to an 18–6 record under Coach Alley. The subsequent year saw his scoring average rise to 29.5 points as the team posted a 21–6 record. In his senior year (1953–54), Selvy once again topped NCAA scoring charts with 1,209 points—an average of 41.7 points per game—steering Furman to a 20–9 finish. His scoring mark stood until surpassed by Pete Maravich at LSU during the 1967–68 season. Across 78 collegiate contests, Selvy maintained an average of 32.5 points per game at Furman.

100-point college game

Selvy’s most renowned accomplishment is his 100-point performance for Furman University against Newberry College on February 13, 1954—the only player in NCAA Division I history to reach this milestone. (The all-time NCAA record belongs to Jack Taylor of Division III Grinnell College, who scored 138 points.) This event took place near the conclusion of Selvy’s final college season during an evening dubbed "Frank Selvy Night" by Coach Lyles Alley to honor his star player, who was already leading national scoring and poised to receive first-team All-American honors for a second straight year.

This game was notable as South Carolina’s first live televised college basketball broadcast and marked the first opportunity for Selvy’s mother to watch him compete. Coach Alley directed the team to feed Selvy the ball frequently; responding brilliantly, Selvy converted 41 of 66 field goal attempts and made 18 of 22 free throws. His final two points came from a buzzer-beating shot near midcourt. Since this occurred before the introduction of the three-point line, Selvy later estimated that eight or nine of those field goals would have qualified as three-pointers under modern rules.

NBA career

Selvy was chosen as the first overall pick by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1954 NBA draft, marking the start of a nine-year NBA tenure that was briefly interrupted by military duty. His most notable period came with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played alongside stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, earning two selections to the NBA All-Star team.

Following the dissolution of Baltimore, Selvy was obtained by the Milwaukee Hawks through a dispersal draft. During his rookie year under coach Red Holzman, he posted an average of 19.0 points per game. When the Hawks moved to St. Louis for the 1955–56 season, Selvy’s scoring dipped to 11.0 points as teammate Bob Pettit rose as a franchise leader. Selvy missed the entire 1956–57 season due to his commitment to U.S. Army service.

Upon his return in 1957–58, Selvy saw limited playing time while the Hawks captured the NBA Championship; however, he was traded midseason to the Minneapolis Lakers. The next campaign saw him join the New York Knicks, where he averaged 9.8 points per contest.

In the 1959–60 season, after being released by New York, Selvy was signed by the Syracuse Nationals, then later sold back to the Minneapolis Lakers, where he completed his final five seasons. He maintained an average of 10.7 points in Minneapolis and survived a plane crash caused by a snowstorm in 1960.

With the Lakers relocating to Los Angeles for the 1960–61 season, Selvy contributed an average of 10.8 points, playing alongside Baylor and West as they advanced to the Western Division Finals. The following year, he improved his scoring average to 14.7 points and helped propel the Lakers to the NBA Finals, where they lost in a seven-game series against the Boston Celtics; during that Finals series, Selvy averaged 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.

The Lakers returned to face Boston again in the 1962–63 Finals but were defeated once more; Selvy averaged 10.3 points during that season and scored 7.5 points per game in the Finals.

Across his nine seasons in the league, Selvy averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while participating in the All-Star Games of both 1955 and 1962.

1962 NBA Finals, Game 7

Frank Selvy’s legacy is largely defined by his performance in Game 7 of the 1962 NBA Finals, where his Los Angeles Lakers came close to upsetting the Boston Celtics. With less than a minute remaining and trailing by four points, Selvy grabbed two vital rebounds and scored twice within twenty seconds to even the score at 100. In the closing five seconds, he received a pass from Rodney "Hot Rod" Hundley but missed a crucial twelve-foot jump shot that would have secured the championship for Los Angeles. This miss forced overtime, where Boston ultimately triumphed in what became one of seven Finals meetings between these teams over eleven years.

Selvy’s rapid baskets gave his team a chance at victory; however, that missed shot became an iconic moment symbolizing the Lakers’ repeated Finals losses to Boston and their prolonged championship drought that followed. The missed opportunity highlighted their struggles before eventual success years later. Hundley, who assisted on that final play, would occasionally call Selvy teasingly with remarks like "Nice shot!"—a lighthearted reminder of what could have been.

It was a fairly tough shot because I was almost on the baseline. But I would trade all my points for that last basket.
— Frank Selvy on NBA.com

Coaching career

Following his NBA retirement due to injury setbacks, Selvy took on the role of assistant coach at Furman University in 1964, working under head coach Lyles Alley. He was promoted to head coach for the 1966–67 season and remained in that position for four years, compiling a 44–59 overall record. During this period, his brother Charles Selvy played a significant role on the team. In 1970, Joe Williams replaced him as Furman’s head coach.

Personal life

After concluding his coaching tenure, Selvy dedicated 25 years to working at St. Joe Paper Company. In 2016, a biography chronicling his life was released.

Death

Selvy died at his residence in Simpsonville, South Carolina, on August 13, 2024, at the age of 91.

NBA

Source

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1954–55	Baltimore	11	39.3	.378	.730	7.0	2.7	22.1
1954–55	Milwaukee	60	37.3	.378	.727	5.3	3.6	18.4
1955–56	St. Louis	17	26.1	.366	.746	3.2	2.1	11.0
1957–58	St. Louis	26	7.5	.193	.563	2.0	0.6	2.3
1957–58	Minneapolis	12	19.3	.333	.690	2.9	1.6	6.3
1958–59	New York	68	21.3	.385	.767	3.6	1.4	9.8
1959–60	Syracuse	19	11.4	.383	.646	2.5	1.6	5.4
1959–60	Minneapolis	43	25.4	.396	.763	3.0	1.9	10.7
1960–61	L.A. Lakers	77	28.0	.405	.753	3.9	3.2	10.8
1961–62	L.A. Lakers	79	'35.5'	' .420'	' .738'	'5.2'	' 4.8 '	'14.7'
'1962–63'	'L.A.Lakers'	'80'*	'29.6'	".424"	' .714'	'3.6'	'3.5'	'10.3'
'1963–64'	'L.A.Lakers'	'73'	'17.6'	' .378'	' .639'	'1.9'	'2.0'	'5.5'
Career	'565'	'26.4'	' .394'	' .728'	'3.7'	'2.8'	'10.8'
All-Star	'2'	'15.0'	' .200'	' .750'	'3.5'	'1.0'	'3.5'

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1959	New York	2	21.5	".500"	.818	"2.0"	"1.5"	"14.5"
"1960"	"Minneapolis"	"9"	"36.7"	" .359"	" .705"	"6.1"	"3.2"	"15.7"
"1961"	"L.A.Lakers"	"12"*	"30.9"	" .387"	" .771"	"3.7"	"4.2"	"10.3"
"1962"	"L.A.Lakers"	"13"	"36.8"	" .434"	" .846"	"5,6"	"5,0"	"12,7"
"1963"	"L.A.Lakers"	"13"*	"24,4"	" .395"	" .813"	"3,5"	"2,8"	"7,9"
"1964"	"style=text-align:left;"\| "L.A.Lakers"	"3"	"23,0"	".481"	"'1,000'"	"1,7"	"2,0"	"9,3"
Career		52	30,9	".403"	".786"	4,3	3,6	"'11,3'"

Honors

In 1954, Selvy earned the United Press National Player of the Year award and was named a consensus first-team 1954 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans member.
He secured the NCAA scoring title twice, in 1953 and 1954, and was honored as the Southern Conference Player of the Year in both those seasons.
Selected as an NBA All-Star in the years 1955 and 1962.
Became an inaugural inductee into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in 2009 and was inducted into the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.
Furman University retired his jersey number 28 in recognition of his contributions.
Included among the "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Eligible Candidates" for the 2019 class.
Commemorated locally with a street named "Frank Selvy Way" in Corbin, Kentucky, and his name featured on the video boards at Furman University's Timmons Arena.

External links