EARL "THE PEARL" MONROE

   

Earl Monroe is a former NBA player known for his flamboyant dribbling, passing and play-making. His nicknames included both "Earl The Pearl" and his Philadelphia nickname, "Black Jesus".

In 1967, the two-time All-American was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) in the first round of the NBA draft (2nd overall pick). He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in a season in which he averaged 24.3 points per game, and scored 56 points in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1971, Monroe was traded to the New York Knicks and formed a celebrity backcourt with equally flamboyant Walt Frazier. The duo meshed together to form one of the most deadly guard combinations of all time, featuring two Hall of Famers and NBA 50th Anniversary Team members. With Monroe, the Knicks won the 1973 NBA championship.
He had played 926 NBA career games, scored 17,454 total points (18.8 ppg) and dished out 3,594 assists.

Monroe, who, along with Pete Maravich, was among the first to transform the NBA game into an exhilarating art form, had his number 15 jersey retired by the Knicks on March 1, 1986. In 1990, he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was named one of the 50 players on the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.