Jim McMillian

McMillian died from complications of heart failure on May 16, 2016.

At the end of his career he moved to Italy and played for Sinudyne Bologna for two seasons winning two Italian titles and reaching the final of the European Champions' Cup in 1981 where he did not play due to a serious injury.

A 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall forward, he was drafted in the first round 13th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA and was also a pick of the Utah Stars of the ABA. He chose the Lakers and spent three years there, scoring 3,714 points, an average of 15.3 per game. In 1972, he helped lead the Lakers to an NBA Championship, averaging 19.1 points per game in the playoffs. He was a key factor in the Lakers' record-setting 33-game winning streak that season. McMillian, who was in his second season that year, replaced Elgin Baylor at forward and the team immediately launched their streak. After the retirement of Wilt Chamberlain, the Lakers needed a center and traded McMillian to the Buffalo Braves for Elmore Smith. He later played for the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers.

James M. McMillian (March 11, 1948 – May 16, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. After starring at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, McMillian played college basketball at Columbia University. He led Columbia to a three-year mark of 63–14, and their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1968, his sophomore year. The tourney ended with a third-place finish for Columbia in the East regional, and Columbia ended that 1967–68 season the sixth-ranked college team in the nation.