Jerome Whitehead
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 30, 1956 Waukegan, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 20, 2012 (aged 56) El Cajon, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Waukegan (Waukegan, Illinois) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1978: 2nd round, 41st overall pick |
| Drafted by | Buffalo Braves |
| Playing career | 1978–1989 |
| Position | Center / power forward |
| Number | 33, 40, 54, 52, 6 |
| Career history | |
| 1978–1979 | San Diego Clippers |
| 1979–1980 | Utah Jazz |
| 1980 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1980 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1981–1984 | San Diego Clippers |
| 1984–1988 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1988–1989 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,423 (6.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,268 (4.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 374 (0.6 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Jerome Whitehead (September 30, 1956 – December 20, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. He was selected by the San Diego Clippers in the second round (41st overall) of the 1978 NBA draft. A 6'10" center-forward from Marquette University, Whitehead played in 11 National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons from 1978 to 1989. He played for the Clippers, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
In his NBA career, Whitehead played in 679 games and scored a total of 4,423 points.[1]
In his junior season at Marquette University, Whitehead helped lead his Warriors to the 1977 national championship. In the semi-final game of the Final Four that season, Whitehead made a game-winning basket at the buzzer in the 1977 national semifinal victory over UNC-Charlotte on a length-of-the-court pass from Butch Lee. Previous to that, UNC-Charlotte's Cedric Maxwell had tied the game with only 3 seconds remaining. The game appeared to be headed for overtime when Whitehead's bucket won the game for the Warriors.
On December 20, 2012, Whitehead was found dead; an autopsy performed on December 21 found Whitehead died as a result of gastrointestinal hemorrhaging.[2][3][4]
Career statistics
| 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[5]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–79 | San Diego | 31 | 4.9 | .441 | .444 | 1.6 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 1.2 | ||
| 1979–80 | San Diego | 18 | 12.5 | .600 | – | .278 | 3.9 | .3 | .1 | .3 | 3.3 | |
| Utah | 32 | 10.3 | .449 | – | .294 | 3.0 | .6 | .2 | .3 | 2.1 | ||
| 1980–81 | Dallas | 7 | 16.9 | .421 | – | .455 | 4.0 | .3 | .6 | .1 | 5.3 | |
| Cleveland | 3 | 2.7 | .333 | – | – | 1.0 | .0 | .3 | .0 | .7 | ||
| San Diego | 38 | 14.8 | .475 | .000 | .511 | 4.8 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 4.1 | ||
| 1981–82 | San Diego | 72 | 60 | 30.8 | .559 | – | .763 | 9.2 | 1.4 | .7 | .6 | 13.8 |
| 1982–83 | San Diego | 46 | 23 | 19.7 | .536 | – | .828 | 5.7 | .9 | .5 | .3 | 8.7 |
| 1983–84 | San Diego | 70 | 1 | 13.2 | .490 | – | .822 | 3.5 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 5.4 |
| 1984–85 | Golden State | 79 | 78 | 32.1 | .510 | – | .783 | 7.9 | .7 | .6 | .5 | 13.0 |
| 1985–86 | Golden State | 81 | 3 | 13.3 | .429 | – | .619 | 4.0 | .2 | .2 | .2 | 3.9 |
| 1986–87 | Golden State | 73 | 1 | 12.8 | .450 | .000 | .699 | 3.6 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 5.1 |
| 1987–88 | Golden State | 72 | 27 | 17.0 | .483 | – | .720 | 4.5 | .5 | .4 | .3 | 5.7 |
| 1988–89 | Golden State | 5 | 0 | 8.4 | .500 | – | .500 | 1.0 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 2.4 |
| San Antonio | 52 | 4 | 11.2 | .392 | – | .667 | 2.5 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 3.2 | |
| Career | 679 | 200 | 17.4 | .497 | .000 | .718 | 4.8 | .6 | .4 | .3 | 6.5 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Golden State | 10 | 0 | 10.0 | .333 | – | .400 | 1.4 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 2.2 |
References
- ^ Brown, Donald (2006). Great Teams, Players, & Coaches: Stories About High School Basketball from the State of Illinois. AuthorHouse. p. 156. ISBN 9781438937182.
- ^ Masterson, Judy. "Jerome Whitehead, former NBA player, dead at 56". Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ "Ex-NBA player Whitehead found dead". Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ Hunt, Michael. "Former Marquette basketball player dies at 56". Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ "Jeromw Whitehead NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 8, 2025.