College
McAdoo attended Vincennes Junior College from 1969 through 1971. His team won a national championship in 1970, and McAdoo was named a Junior College All-American as a sophomore in 1971. He played his junior year at the University of North Carolina. He led the 1971–72 Tar Heels, coached by Dean Smith, to the Final Four. He was named an All-American once again, and took MVP honors at the ACC Tournament.NBA
Drafted in the first round of the 1972 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) following two seasons at Vincennes Junior College, and one season at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, McAdoo soon became one of the NBA's premier players. McAdoo won the 1973 NBA Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, and earned the first of three consecutive NBA scoring titles in only his second season. His 2nd season (1973–74) remains the last time an NBA player has averaged both 30.0 points per game and 15.0 rebounds per game over the course of a season. McAdoo also led the NBA in field goal percentage in 1973–74, shooting 54.7 percent. That year he enjoyed his first of five All-Star selections. In 1974–75 he was awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, averaging 34.5 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.12 blocks per game, while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 80.5 percent from the free throw line. He also led the league in fan voting for the 1975 All-Star Game with 98,325 votes.After this stellar beginning, McAdoo played several injury-plagued seasons for the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons and the New Jersey Nets. Although these seasons were solid statistically, many analysts and fans felt that McAdoo's career was stagnating, mostly because the teams he played for were not title contenders. However, McAdoo enjoyed a much more memorable end to his career, winning two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982 and 1985 as the team's sixth man. His teammates on those Showtime Lakers included Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, and Jamaal Wilkes. He finished his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1985–86 season.
In the 1970s and 1980s, McAdoo lived in Ramsey, New Jersey.
Europe
He then played in Italy, in the Olimpia Milano team, as one of the best US-players ever seen in Europe and the FIBA European Champions Cup (now known as the Euroleague). He led Milano to the Italian Lega A and FIBA European Champions Cup (twice) championships, with averages of 26.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game. Later he played for the Italian clubs Filanto Forlì (1990–1992) and Teamsystem Fabriano (1992–1993), before retiring in 1993, at age 42.Honors
McAdoo's style was very modern for his time. Although a 'big man' at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he had no problems taking shots from the perimeter, which, in his prime, made him a nearly unstoppable force on offense. McAdoo was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2008 he was named to the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors.He still holds the Braves/Clippers record for most minutes played per game (40.1), field goals made per game (11.1), and field goal attempts per game (22.1).
Personal
McAdoo graduated from Ben L. Smith High School.His wife is Patrizia McAdoo, whom he met while playing professionally in Italy. His daughter, Rasheeda, is a junior tennis player.[5]
McAdoo's second cousin, Ronnie McAdoo, is the father of James McAdoo, who was one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2011 and currently plays for the University of North Carolina men's basketball team.
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