Walter Piatkowski Jr. (born June 11, 1945) is a retired American professional basketball player.
A 6'8" forward, Piatkowski began his career at Toledo Woodward High School then starred at Bowling Green State University, where he was a Converse Honorable Mention All-American in 1968.[1] He then played in the American Basketball Association from 1968 to 1970 as a member of the Denver Rockets. He received ABA All-Rookie Team honors with the Rockets in 1969 after averaging 12.2 points per game.[2] When the Rockets acquired Spencer Haywood the next season, Piatkowski saw his playing time drop, and in 1970, he briefly retired to work as a teacher. He returned to the ABA in the fall of 1971 as a member of The Floridians, but he was waived just a month into that season. He later became a salesman with a paper company.[3] He is Polish American.[4]
Piatkowski's son Eric Piatkowski played basketball at the University of Nebraska; was drafted into the NBA in 1994 as the 15th overall pick by the Indiana Pacers; and played 14 years in the NBA, mostly with the Los Angeles Clippers.[3]
Career statistics
ABA
Source[5]
Regular season
Year
|
Team
|
GP
|
MPG
|
FG%
|
3P%
|
FT%
|
RPG
|
APG
|
PPG
|
1968–69
|
Denver
|
77 |
23.6 |
.417 |
.329 |
.775 |
4.7 |
.6 |
12.2
|
1969–70
|
Denver
|
74 |
17.6 |
.402 |
.220 |
.768 |
3.4 |
.6 |
7.0
|
1971–72
|
Florida
|
6 |
4.7 |
.188 |
– |
– |
.3 |
.3 |
1.0
|
Career
|
157 |
20.1 |
.409 |
.288 |
.772 |
3.9 |
.6 |
9.3
|
Playoffs
Year
|
Team
|
GP
|
MPG
|
FG%
|
3P%
|
FT%
|
RPG
|
APG
|
PPG
|
1969
|
Denver
|
7 |
28.7 |
.432 |
.111 |
.909 |
4.1 |
.9 |
15.3
|
1970
|
Denver
|
6 |
8.3 |
.500 |
.250 |
.500 |
1.8 |
.7 |
4.5
|
Career
|
13 |
19.3 |
.444 |
.154 |
.800 |
3.1 |
.8 |
10.3
|
References