Billy Gabor

Billy Gabor
	Billy the Bullet (1950)
Personal information
Born	May 13, 1922; Binghamton, New York, U.S.
Died	June 4, 2019 (aged 97); Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Binghamton Central; (Binghamton, New York)
College	Syracuse (1942–1943, 1945–1948)
NBA draft	1948: — round, —
	Selected by the Rochester Royals
Playing career	1948–1955
Position	Point guard
Number	35, 7
Career history
1948–1955	Syracuse Nationals
Career highlights and awards
	NBA champion (1955); NBA All-Star (1953); 2× Second-team All-American – Helms (1946, 1947); Third-team All-American – TSN (1946); No. 17 retired by Syracuse Orange;
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,997 (9.8 ppg)
Rebounds	448 (1.8 rpg)
Assists	626 (2.0 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

William A. Gabor (May 13, 1922 – June 4, 2019)^[1] was an American professional basketball player. A 5'11" guard/forward known as "Billy the Bullet",^[2] Gabor played collegiately at Syracuse University in the 1940s. He averaged 12.1 points per game during his freshman year before joining the United States Army Air Corps in 1943. He returned to Syracuse in 1945 and played three more seasons, finishing with a (then) team-record 1,344 career points. Gabor's jersey was retired by Syracuse University on March 1, 2009.

Gabor spent his professional career with the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball League and later the National Basketball Association. He played with Syracuse until injuries forced him into retirement in 1955. In his NBA career, Gabor averaged 9.8 points per game and logged one NBA All-Star Game appearance. He won a league championship with Syracuse in 1955.

Time at Syracuse University

When Gabor first began playing basketball at Syracuse, there was a freshman and varsity team. He started all the freshmen games and then would suit up for the varsity game. Gabor started his first game on varsity against Cornell in 1942–43 season and scored 22 points. He started every game after that.

Gabor holds many school records, including:

Only person to lead the team in scoring all four years they took the court
First to score 400 points in a single season
First to score over 1,000 points in a career

He held the all-time scoring record until Dave Bing bested it.^[3]

On May 1, 2009, Gabor was invited back to the Carrier Dome to see his jersey number 17 retired.

Family

Gabor was married once. He had three children: Bill, Bob and Hallie, and eight grandchildren: Annie, Emily, SarahRose, Malone, Mimi, Jack, Will, and Madison. He last resided in Jupiter, Florida.^[2]

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1949–50	Syracuse	56	–	.337	.689	–	1.9	10.9
1950–51	Syracuse	61	–	.342	.740	2.5	2.0	11.3
1951–52	Syracuse	57	19.0	.322	.776	1.6	1.5	8.6
1952–53	Syracuse	69	19.4	.350	.764	1.5	1.9	9.4
1953–54	Syracuse	61	19.9	.370	.716	1.6	2.7	9.0
1954–55†	Syracuse	3	15.7	.318	.600	1.7	3.7	5.7
Career		307	19.4	.344	.737	1.8	2.0	9.8
All-Star		1	25.0	.000	.000	5.0	2.0	0.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1950	Syracuse	10	–	.258	.839	–	2.5	7.6
1951	Syracuse	7	–	.375	.643	2.9	2.6	9.0
1952	Syracuse	7	11.4	.333	.750	0.9	1.4	4.9
1953	Syracuse	2	14.0	.417	.615	1.5	1.0	9.0
1954	Syracuse	10	19.6	.289	.700	2.8	1.9	7.6
Career		307	19.4	.344	.737	1.8	2.0	9.8