Orlando Woolridge

Orlando Woolridge
Born	Orlando Vernada Woolridge (1959-12-16) 16 December 1959 Bernice, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	31 May 2012(2012-05-31) (aged 52) Mansfield, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Professional basketball player, basketball coach
Years active	1981–1996 (player), 1998–1999, 2008–2009 (coach)
Known for	NBA player known for scoring and dunking; head coach of Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA)

Orlando Vernada Woolridge (December 16, 1959 – May 31, 2012) was a prominent American professional basketball athlete who competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 through 1994, celebrated for his scoring prowess and dunking skills. His collegiate basketball career was with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Early life and education

Originating from Bernice, Louisiana, Woolridge enrolled at the University of Notre Dame and represented the Fighting Irish on the basketball court. During his freshman year, he advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1978 alongside teammates Kelly Tripucka and Bill Laimbeer, both of whom later joined him on the Detroit Pistons roster in the 1990s.

From his sophomore year until graduation, Woolridge was a consistent starter, contributing to Notre Dame’s appearances in the NCAA tournaments of 1980 and 1981. While primarily a forward, he spent one season (1979–80) at center, achieving a field goal percentage of 58.5%. In 1981, he earned second-team All-American honors from The Sporting News and is remembered for sinking a game-winning shot that ended No. 1 Virginia’s 28-game winning streak. His college career statistics include averages of 10.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, with nearly 60% shooting efficiency.

College

|- | align="left" | 1977–78 | align="left" | Notre Dame | 24 || – || 9.6 || .526 || – || .485 || 2.1 || 0.5 || – || – || 4.1 |- | align="left" | 1978–79 | align="left" | Notre Dame | 30 || 30 || 25.1 || .573 || – || .732 || 4.8 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 0.4 || 11.0 |- | align="left" | 1979–80 | align="left" | Notre Dame | 27 || 27 || 30.9 || .585 || – || .692 || 6.9 || 1.5 || 0.7 || 1.1 || 12.2 |- | align="left" | 1980–81 | align="left" | Notre Dame | 28 || 28 || 33.0 || .650 || – || .667 || 6.0 || 1.4 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 14.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 109 || 85 || 25.1 || .595 || – || .669 || 5.0 || 1.2 || 0.5 || 0.6 || 10.6 |}

NBA

Chosen sixth overall in the 1981 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, Woolridge spent five seasons with the team, making his debut on November 7, 1981. He earned the title of NBA Player of the Week on December 9, 1984, and during the ’84–’85 campaign averaged an impressive 22.9 points per game while partnering with rookie Michael Jordan; together they combined for over 51 points per game. Prior to Jordan’s emergence as a superstar, Woolridge was one of the Bulls’ key players alongside Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore, Reggie Theus, and David Greenwood. Standing at and weighing , he was recognized as one of the league’s most talented dunkers and an early innovator of alley-oop plays. He participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contests in both 1984 and ’85, introducing the eastbay funk dunk in ’84. Woolridge led Chicago in scoring during the ’86 season—the final year before Jordan became the team's primary scorer. Nevertheless, his relatively narrow playing style limited his compatibility alongside Jordan.

On October 2, 1986, Woolridge signed as a veteran free agent with the New Jersey Nets, where he averaged a solid 20.7 points per game during the ’86–’87 season. After appearing in only nineteen games in the subsequent season, he faced suspension due to violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

He joined the Los Angeles Lakers on August 10, 1988, contributing valuable bench scoring near the basket and averaging around eleven points per contest across two seasons. His field goal percentage of .556 during the ’89–’90 season ranked fifth among all NBA players.

Traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for two second-round draft picks in 1990, Woolridge flourished under coach Paul Westhead’s high-tempo offense system, posting career-high averages of 25.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game throughout the ’90–’91 season. He led scoring for much of that campaign before undergoing eye surgery for a detached retina caused by an on-court collision; at that point he ranked third in scoring with an average of twenty-nine points per game.

Woolridge suited up for the Detroit Pistons during the ’91–’92 season, split time between Detroit and the Milwaukee Bucks in the following year, and wrapped up his NBA playing days with the Philadelphia 76ers in ’93–’94. Across his NBA career, he maintained averages of sixteen points, 4.3 rebounds, and nearly two assists per game but did not secure an NBA championship title.

Europe

Woolridge competed at the professional level in Italy, representing Benetton Treviso under the guidance of coach Mike D'Antoni. During the 1994–95 season, he contributed to the team's triumph in the FIBA European Cup as well as capturing the Italian Basketball Cup. The following season, 1995–96, he signed with Buckler Bologna, where he helped secure the Italian Basketball Supercup title.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1981–82 | align="left" | Chicago | 75 || 12 || 15.8 || .513 || .000 || .699 || 3.0 || 1.1 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 7.3 |- | align="left" | 1982–83 | align="left" | Chicago | 57 || 38 || 28.5 || .580 || .000 || .638 || 5.2 || 1.7 || 0.7 || 0.8 || 16.5 |- | align="left" | 1983–84 | align="left" | Chicago | 75 || 74 || 33.9 || .525 || .500 || .715 || 4.9 || 1.8 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 19.3 |- | align="left" | 1984–85 | align="left" | Chicago | 77 || 76 || 36.6 || .554 || .000 || .785 || 5.6 || 1.8 || 0.8 || 0.5 || 22.9 |- | align="left" | 1985–86 | align="left" | Chicago | 70 || 59 || 32.1 || .495 || .174 || .788 || 5.0 || 3.0 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 20.7 |- | align="left" | 1986–87 | align="left" | New Jersey | 75 || 53 || 35.2 || .521 || .125 || .777 || 4.9 || 3.5 || 0.7 || 1.1 || 20.7 |- | align="left" | 1987–88 | align="left" | New Jersey | 19 || 12 || 32.7 || .445 || .000 || .708 || 4.8 || 3.7|| 0.7|| 1.1||16.4 |- | align="left" | 1988–89 | align="left" | Los Angeles |74||0||20.1|| .468|| .000|| .738||3.6||0.8||0.4||0.9||9.7 |- | align="left" | 1989–90 | align="left" | Los Angeles |62||2||22.9|| .556|| .000|| .733||3.0||1.5||0.6||0.7||12.7 |- | align="left" | 1990–91 | align="left" | Denver |53||50||34.4|| .498|| .000|| .797|| 6.8||2.2|| 1.3||0.4|| 25.1 |- | align="left" | 1991–92 | align="left" | Detroit |'82' '|'61' '|'25.8' '|' .498' '|' .111' '|' .683' '|'3.2' '|'1.1' '|'0.5' '|'0.4' '|'14.0' |} |- ...

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1984–85 | align="left" | Chicago | 4 || 4 || 41.8 || .500 || .000 || .778 || 3.3 || 2.0|| 1.5||0.3||20.5 |- | align="left" | 1985–86 | align="left" | Chicago |3||3|||45.0||| .403||| .000||| .867||| 4.7|||1.3|||1.0|||0.3|||21 |) |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- class="sortbottom" ! style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career !36!!12!!25..1!!492!!000!!716!!36!!12!!06!!07!!11..9 |}

WNBA

|- | align="left" |Los Angeles | align="left" | |10||5||5|||| align="center" |3rd place Western||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Did not qualify for playoffs |- | align="left" |Los Angeles | align="left" | |32||20||12|||| align="center" |2nd place Western||4||2||2|| | align="center" |Eliminated in conference finals |-class="sortbottom" | align="center" colspan="2" |Overall |42||25||17|||| ||4||2||2||||

Coaching and later years

Following his playing career, Woolridge transitioned to coaching, leading the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He guided the team to a postseason berth in his second campaign. Subsequently, he served as head coach for the Arizona Rhinos in the ABA from 2008 through 2009.

Personal life and death

Woolridge's son, Renaldo Woolridge, also embarked on a professional basketball journey. He was related as a cousin to Hall of Fame inductee Willis Reed. After enduring heart disease, Woolridge passed away on May 31, 2012, at his parents' residence in Mansfield, Louisiana.

External links

• FIBA EuroLeague profile
• Italian League profile