Jawann Oldham

Jawann Oldham
Oldham (left) and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1986
Personal information
Born(1957-07-04)July 4, 1957
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJanuary 5, 2026(2026-01-05) (aged 68)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolCleveland (Seattle, Washington)
CollegeSeattle (1976–1980)
NBA draft1980: 2nd round, 41st overall pick
Drafted byDenver Nuggets
Playing career1980–1997
PositionCenter
Number45, 51, 33, 44, 32, 50, 55, 22
Career history
Playing
1980Denver Nuggets
1980–1981Montana Golden Nuggets
1981–1982Houston Rockets
1983–1986Chicago Bulls
1986–1987New York Knicks
1987–1988Sacramento Kings
1989–1990Santa Barbara Islanders
1990Orlando Magic
1990Los Angeles Lakers
1990–1991Rapid City Thrillers
1991Indiana Pacers
1991–1992Tulsa Zone
1992–1993Oklahoma City Cavalry
1993Capitanes de Arecibo
1995–1996Chicago Rockers
1996Hung Kuo Elephants
1996–1997Tianjin Bay Pioneers
1997Hung Kuo Elephants
Coaching
2005–2006Oita Heat Devils
Career highlights
Career NBA statistics
Points1,455 (4.4 ppg)
Rebounds1,353 (4.1 rpg)
Blocks546 (1.7 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Jawann Oldham (July 4, 1957 – January 5, 2026) was an American professional basketball player who was a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Seattle Redhawks before being selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 1980 NBA draft. Oldham played 10 seasons in the NBA for eight teams.

Early life and college career

Oldham was born in Chicago and grew up in Seattle, where he attended Cleveland High School and Seattle University, with 1,530 points and 965 rebounds during his college career, after which he was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 1980 NBA draft with the 41st overall pick.[1][2]

Career

NBA

In his NBA career, Oldham played in 329 games and scored a total of 1,455 points, playing for the Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers. He was the last Bulls player to wear #33 before Scottie Pippen.

CBA

Oldham played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Montana Golden Nuggets during the 1980–81 season, Santa Barbara Islanders during the 1989–90 season, Rapid City Thrillers during the 1990–91 season, Tulsa Zone during the 1991–92 season, Oklahoma City Cavalry during the 1992–93 season and Chicago Rockers during the 1995–96 season.[3] He was selected to the CBA All-Defensive Team in 1992.[3]

International

Oldham won gold as part of the US basketball team at the 1979 Summer Universiade.[1][4]

Post-NBA

Oldham was instrumental in founding the Korean Basketball League in South Korea and the Chinese New Basketball Alliance (CNBA) in China in the 1990s, and developed and coached for the bj league in Japan; the Jawann Oldham Professional Development Basketball Academy operates in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.[1][5]

In March 1996, Oldham joined the Hung Kuo Elephants of the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA) in Taiwan.[6][7] In June 1996, Oldham won his first championship ring of his career.[8] Oldham decided not return to the Hung Kuo Elephants in the 1996–97 season,[9] joined the Tianjin Bay Pioneers of the newly formed Chinese New Basketball Alliance (CNBA) in China.[10] In May 1997, Oldham returned to the Hung Kuo Elephants.[11] In August 1997, Oldham won his second CBA champion.[12] Oldham would be unable to play for Hung Kuo Elephants next season because CBA has introduced a height restriction.[13]

Death

Oldham died in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 5, 2026, at the age of 68.[14]

Career playing statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Source[2]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1980–81 Denver 45.3.333––1.3.0.0.51.0
1981–82 Houston 2205.6.361–.5711.1.1.1.51.5
1982–83 Chicago 16010.7.534–.5452.9.3.3.84.6
1983–84 Chicago 64013.6.505–.5913.6.5.21.24.0
1984–85 Chicago 63015.8.464.000.6803.7.5.22.03.4
1985–86 Chicago 524724.5.517.000.5825.9.7.52.67.4
1986–87 New York 44917.6.408.000.5444.1.4.51.63.9
1987–88 Sacramento 541317.5.476–.6785.6.6.22.05.5
1989–90 Orlando 3012.0.333–.4005.0.0.71.01.3
Los Angeles 303.0.667–.500.3.3.0.01.7
1990–91 Pacers 404.8.500––.8.0.0.01.5
Career 3296915.9.479.000.6074.1.5.31.74.4

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1985 Chicago 4022.8.467––5.5.81.51.83.5
1986 Chicago 104.0.000––2.0.0.0.0.0
Career 5019.0.438––4.8.61.21.42.8

Head coaching record

bj league

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Oita Heat Devils 2005-06 16412.250Fired---– -

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jawann Oldham", SPS High School Athletic Hall of Fame, retrieved October 22, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Jawann Oldham NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Jawann Oldham minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Tenth World University Games -- 1979", USA Basketball, June 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ Barnaby Read, "Ex-NBA star blazing UAE basketball trail", Sport 360, April 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ 李炎權 (March 19, 1996). "歐德漢報到 身高傲視CBA". 民生報. 宏國象新洋將歐德漢(Jawann Oldham)昨天抵華報到，他在其他球團洋將紛紛離隊返美「避難」之際，無懼中共演習，欣然與宏國有約，被喻為是「反向操作」，特別是他的身高二一六公分、自稱現年三十七歲，己是CBA史上第一長人、第一「長者」。
  7. ↑ 李炎權 (March 27, 1996). "大象註冊久旺". 民生報. 宏國象昨天為二一六公分的新洋將Jawann Oldham註冊，並取中國名為「久旺」，有尋求延續象目前連勝氣勢的味道，依規定，本周五與幸福豹二連戰他可披掛上陣，取代腰傷初癒的凱斯。
  8. ↑ 李亦伸 (June 6, 1996). "久旺 遲來的冠軍戒指". 民生報. 打了十年NBA，宏國象中鋒久旺從來沒有打過總冠軍決賽，昨晚久旺以三十九歲高齡，轉移舞台來到台灣CBA，竟然得償「冠軍美夢」，這枚冠軍戒指雖然色澤不全，但仍令他感到喜悅。
  9. ↑ "久旺、凱斯、電波 跟象說拜拜". 民生報. September 24, 1996.
  10. ↑ 李亦伸 (October 20, 1996). "CNBA真有NBA味道". 民生報. 中華職籃二年幫宏國象立下汗馬功勞的中鋒久旺(Jawann Oldham)，擁有十年NBA經歷，歷經無數戰役，加盟天津開拓者隊，是該隊第一中鋒。
  11. ↑ 李亦伸 (May 24, 1997). "久旺、電波回鍋 這下熱鬧了". 民生報. 戰績領先群雄，最近四連勝的宏國象在意外失去強力中鋒雷電與前鋒凱尼後，改以職籃二年協助球隊摘下總冠軍的功臣中鋒久旺與前鋒電波取代，宏國將以何種新面貌出擊，是今晚台南成大球場焦點。
  12. ↑ 林炎權 (August 13, 1997). "宏國職籃三年稱霸 衛冕成功". 民生報.
  13. ↑ 李亦伸 (September 13, 1997). "補充四名洋將 宏國準備相親". 聯合晚報. 受限於身高限制，宏國兩大中鋒久旺、瑞斯下一球季起無緣再為宏國效力。
  14. ↑ Allen, Percy (January 6, 2026). "Jawann Oldham, a basketball star at Cleveland High, Seattle U, dies at 68". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
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