All Info From BasketballReference.com
DETROIT -- With the Miami Heat winning the 2012 NBA Championship, a Horizon League alum earned a ring in Cleveland State's Norris Cole. But, did you know that five – that's right five- Titans have won a NBA title.
Spencer Haywood is the new addition to the championship list after better research clearly indicated he was a member of the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Lakers that season as LA took care of Phoenix and Seattle, 4-1, in the first two rounds to reach the finals. The Lakers then defeated Philadelphia in six games. In the playoffs, Haywood averaged 5.7 ppg., and 2.4 rpg.
Dave DeBusschere helped the New York Knicks win the 1970 NBA championship. The Knicks were 60-22 that year and beat the Baltimore Bullets in seven games in round one. The Knicks then rolled past the Milwaukee Bucks – a team that featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – to reach the finals.
In one of the most dramatic NBA championships in league history, New York defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. The Lakers had the great trio of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, but DeBusschere joined a superb Knicks' squad that also had Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed.
In game seven, DeBusschere tallied 18 points and 17 rebounds and played some great defense on Baylor as the Knicks claimed their first title. In the playoffs, DeBusschere averaged 16.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
Earl Cureton won two rings, while reaching the finals in another year. His first title came with Philadelphia in 1983 after the 76'ers dropped a six-game series to the Lakers in 1982. In 1983, Philadelphia came back strong with a 65-17 overall record and a 12-1 mark in the playoffs, including a four game sweep over LA in the finals. Cureton averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds on the year and played in two of the four final's games, seeing his most action with 17 minutes of court time in game two.
Cureton was also part of a seven game series in 1994 as the Houston Rockets downed the Knicks. Houston was down 3-2 heading into game six, but the Rockets would win the final two at home giving Cureton his second ring. He played in one game in the finals, seeing two minutes of action in the decisive game seven.
John Long was part of the Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” team in 1989 as the Motor City took the championship in four games – the first title in Pistons' history. Long was a double-digit scorer in his first 10 years in the NBA, averaging a career-best in 1982 with 21.9 ppg. In 1989, he played in 24 games during the regular season and four games in the playoffs.
In the finals, he saw action in one game scoring a basket in two minutes as Detroit sent a message in game one with a 109-97 triumph.
Terry Duerod was a champion with the Boston Celtics in 1981 as Boston beat the Rockets in six games. He registered 2.4 points in 32 games during the regular season and 0.8 points during the finals. He played in four of the six games in the finals, scoring four points in game five and two in game three.
One other Titan played in the NBA finals as Dorie Murrey was part of the Baltimore Bullets' team that dropped all four games to Milwaukee in 1971. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 69 games in the regular season with 2.1 ppg., and 2.1 rpg., in the playoffs. Baltimore won a pair of game sevens in the playoffs to reach the finals downing Philadelphia and New York. He saw action in all four finals' contests netting four points in game one and adding two more in the second game.
