James Bailey (basketball), Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetJames Bailey (basketball)
American basketball player
Date of Birth: 21-May-1957
Place of Birth: Dublin, Georgia, United States
Profession: basketball player
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Gemini 
About James Bailey (basketball)
- James L.
- Bailey (born May 21, 1957) is a retired American professional basketball player.
- A 6'9" (2.06 m) forward/center from Rutgers University, he was selected with the 6th pick of the 1979 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.
- Nicknamed "Jammin' James," he spent 9 seasons (1979–1988) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for the Sonics as well as the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Phoenix Suns.
- He ended his NBA career with 5,246 total points.
- While at Rutgers, Bailey was a formidable player, displaying a strong inside presence in addition to possessing great leaping ability.
- He was famous for his conversion of "alley oop" passes into slam dunks.
- The rule allowing dunking was re-instituted in college basketball beginning with the 1976-77 season, Bailey's sophomore year.
- Bailey's slam dunks were an immediate sensation at Rutgers, and Bailey led the team with 88 dunks as a sophomore.
- He increased this number to 116 as a junior.
- However, as a senior, he was met with constant double and triple teaming, and Rutgers' opponents "held" him to 79 dunks as a senior. The Scarlet Knights advanced to the NCAA basketball Final Four in 1976, Bailey's freshman year, arriving with a 31-0 record.
- However, they were defeated by Michigan in the national semi finals, and then lost to UCLA in the 3rd place (consolation) game. Bailey is number three on the Rutgers all-time scoring list (2,034 points), and second in career rebounds behind Phil Sellers (1,047).
- He is also the second leading shot-blocker in Rutgers history behind Roy Hinson. Bailey went on to capture All-America honors from UPI and The Sporting News in 1978.
- Bailey's #20 jersey was retired by Rutgers in 1993, and he was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame in the same year.
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