Wayne Embry

Embry was born on March 26, 1937, in Springfield Ohio. He was raised on a family farm five miles outside of Springfield, on a 70-acre property with four separate homes for his nuclear family, his grandparents, and two uncles. The family was poor and his father also had to work as a car mechanic. He attended Tecumseh High School near New Carlisle, Ohio, where he was a three-year letter winner and earned honorable mention All-State honors as a basketball payer. He was already 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) as a 15-year old junior center. In his senior year (1954), Tecumseh was undefeated in the regular season, and their only loss came in the regional tournament finals. He suffered racial epithets at the school and wanted to leave, but his parents told him he had to stick it out by believing in himself as a man or no one else would believe in him, a philosophy he followed the rest of his life. ==College career==

Embry was recruited to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, by coach Bill Rohr, who won Embry over by emphasizing academics rather than basketball as the primary reason to attend Miami. As a two-time All-Mid-American Conference center, Embry, a team captain, led the then-Redskins to conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1957 and 1958. Embry still holds several school records, including best career rebounding average (15.5) (through the 2024–25 season). He ranks among Miami leaders in the all-time scoring list with 1,401 points (just outside the top-10) and is second on the total rebounding list with 1,117 (two behind Ron Harper's 1,119). He was inducted in the second class of the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame in 1970. Embry earned a Bachelor of Science in education from Miami. ==NBA playing career==

Embry was originally drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the third round of the April 1958 NBA draft (23rd overall). Cincinnati Royals In early August 1958, before ever playing for the Hawks, he was traded closer to home to the Cincinnati Royals. The Royals were rebuilding due to the loss of team star forward Maurice Stokes and their inability to sign star center Clyde Lovellette. Stokes became paralyzed with encephalitis in mid-March 1958, after hitting his head and falling unconscious three days earlier during the final game of the regular season against the Minneapolis Lakers. Stokes was still paralyzed at the time of the trade, and remained so for the rest of his shortened life. Lovellette and the Royals were also at loggerheads over his contract, as Lovellette wanted a sizable pay increase after an excellent 1957–58 season and the Royals were unwilling to meet his demands. Lovellette was traded to St. Louis for Embry and four other rookies: Gerry Calvert, Darrell Floyd, Jim Palmer and Ken Sidle. Embry became the only African American on the Royals' roster. Future Hall of fame guard, and one of the 75 greatest NBA players of all time, Oscar Robertson arrived to the team in 1960, reviving the Royals, who finished the season 33–46. Embry blossomed with Robertson's joining the team. He made the Western division all-star team for the first time as a backup at center (Lovellette being the starting center); averaging 14.4 points and 10.9 rebounds on the season, in just 28.3 minutes per game. Embry (1960–63), Robertson (1960–63) and Jack Twyman (1961–63) were all NBA All-Stars for Cincinnati during the next three years. The Royals' record improved to 43–37 (1961–62) and 42–38 (1962–63). Overall during the 1963 NBA Playoffs, Embry averaged postseason career highs of 16.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. He averaged 12.7 rebounds and 16 points per game in the Boston series, facing Celtics Hall of Fame center Bill Russell. The next season, the 1963–64 Cincinnati Royals surged to the second-best record in the NBA (55–25), with future Hall of Fame teammate Jerry Lucas now added, and Robertson named the league's Most Valuable Player. That season, on December 1, Embry totaled a career high 39 points scored in a 114–109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Embry was selected an All-Star for the fourth consecutive year (joining Lucas and Robertson on the All-Star Team), and was 9th in most valuable player voting. He averaged 17.3 points and 11.6 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per game. Embry was selected to the All-Star Team again in 1964-65 for the fifth consecutive season, though his regular season averages (10 rebounds and 12.7 points per game) were the lowest since his second season with the Royals. During Embry's years with the Royals, the team was never able to surpass the Eastern Division's Boston Celtics of Red Auerbach and Bill Russell, or the Philadelphia 76ers with Wilt Chamberlain, to reach the NBA finals in their quest for an NBA title; losing to the Celtics again in the 1964 Eastern Division Finals, the 76ers in the 1965 Eastern Division Semifinals, and the Celtics in the 1966 Eastern Division Semifinals, in Embry's last games as a Royal. Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks Nearly retiring to be a regional sales leader for Pepsi-Cola, Embry was talked out of retirement by friend Bill Russell, the new player/coach for Boston. While Embry would not accept playing in a back up role and tutor to incoming center Walt Wesley at Cincinnati, playing as a backup for Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics was agreeable to him. Less than two weeks after retiring from the Royals, the Celtics and Auerbach sought permission from the Royals general manager Pepper Wilson to try and sign Embry, and successfully did so. Pepsi also agreed that Embry's work for the company could continue in Boston. In his first season with the Celtics (1966–67), Embry averaged 10.1 minutes per game as Russell's backup, but played sparingly in the playoffs that year; the Celtics losing four games to one against the 76ers in the Eastern Division Finals. During the season, Auerbach constantly encouraged Embry for his game performances, and instilled confidence in Embry. Embry played crucial reserve minutes for Russell and aided that team's surprising 1967–68 NBA title run. Embry averaged nearly 14 minutes a game as Russell's backup center during the regular season, with 6.3 point and 4.1 rebound per game averages. He averaged over 11 minutes per game in the playoff series against the 76ers, playing as Russell's backup in all seven games. He played in five of the six NBA Finals games against the Lakers, averaging nearly 10 minutes per game. He was named the Bucks first captain. In the first game in Bucks franchise history, Embry scored 15 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. Embry retired at the end of the season, at age 32. Over his 11-year career, Embry averaged 9.1 rebounds and 12.5 points per game. ==NBA career statistics==

Regular season Playoffs ==NBA front-office career==

In 1970, Embry left his job in Boston's department of recreation and joined the Bucks front office as director of player personnel, under team president Ray Patterson. He served as Patterson's administrative assistant, originally working as chief scout and then becoming more involved with everyday team operations over time, learning management from Patterson (as he had previously learned from Red Auerbach). Embry kept an eye for former Royals teammates he could lure to the rising contender. Embry was instrumental in numerous signings to aid the team, including his former teammate and roommate Oscar Robertson (traded to the Bucks in 1970) and scout John Killilea. The Bucks also traded for Embry's old Royals' teammate Bob Boozer in September 1970, who played over 22 minutes per game for the Bucks during his final NBA season, adding potent depth to the Bucks' team. The addition of Robertson to a team that already included then-named future Hall of Fame center Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) quickly produced an NBA title in 1971. In 1972, when Patterson decided to leave the Bucks to take over the Houston Rockets, Embry was unanimously selected as general manager by the Bucks' board. Embry traded Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the Los Angeles Lakers for Elmore Smith, Dave Meyers, Brian Winters, and Junior Bridgeman. In 1985, the Indiana Pacers hired Embry as a vice president and consultant, where he was instrumental in the 1986 draft. bypassing Babcock in the chain of command. In mid-January 2006, Peddie went to Embry as his senior advisor with concerns over Babcock's performance as general manager. Soon after, Peddie went to the Raptors' board with his concerns over Babcock and then announced Babcock's firing on January 26, 2006. On January 26, 2006, Raptor team president and CEO Peddie named Embry the interim general manager for the Raptors after the firing of Babcock, Still, during his short stint as general manager, Embry engineered two significant trades. Embry has continued to serve as senior basketball advisor for the Raptors (through at least 2024). Since joining the team, the Raptors went on to become NBA champions in 2019. == Legacy and honors ==

Embry has been a trustee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 1974 and has served on various senior-level committees for the NBA and USA Basketball. In recognition of his career both on the court and in the front office, he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a contributor to the sport in 1999. He also served as a member of Miami's board of trustees for 14 years, including one year as chair. recognizing an Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame inductee for his or her contributions to the state of Ohio off the court. On May 18, 2021, Miami University unveiled a statue which stands at the south entrance of Millett Hall, the university's basketball arena. It captures Embry's likeness and signature hook shot. Private donations funded the creation of the statue and a Wayne Embry Scholarship, which will support Miami varsity men's basketball student-athletes. The university also presented Embry and his late wife, Theresa “Terri” Embry (Miami ’60), with the Freedom Summer of ’64 Award, which is bestowed each year upon a distinguished leader who has inspired the nation to advance civil rights and social justice. He has received the Sports Business Journal's Champions Award, the Global Sports Management Summit's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Giant Steps Award from the National Consortium for Academics and Sports. == Personal life ==

Embry and his wife Theresa (Terri) met in college, and have two daughters and one son. He also has a granddaughter. Terri obtained a bachelor's degree in education, and participated in civil rights marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Later in life she served on boards at the University of Miami and the Urban League. She died on August 27, 2020, at age 82. The book created controversy as to whether Don Nelson had questioned the ability of blacks to coach in the NBA, which Embry had asserted in the book and which Nelson denied saying. == References ==