Today's profilee is proof that there are second acts in life. This man exploded out of the gates, winning Rookie of the Year, three scoring titles, and a league MVP. Then, he was left practically for dead, as he was considered too accustomed to losing. Then, he finished his NBA career with two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is Bob McAdoo.

Bob McAdoo was born September 25, 1951 in Greensboro, North Carolina. He attended Ben Smith High School in Greensboro, which he led to the state semifinals. McAdoo then attended Vincennes Junior College because he wasn't a great student. After two years there, McAdoo finally made the grade and joined the University of North Carolina, where he average 19.5 PPG and 10.1 RPG in his lone season there, earning 1st Team All-America honors. Declaring early for the NBA, he was selected #2 overall (behind LaRue Martin) in the 1972 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves, a team in desperate need of a spark.

McAdoo flourished in new coach Jack Ramsay's system, even as the Braves continued to struggle on the court. He averaged 18 PPG and 9.1 RPG, winning Rookie of the Year honors. The next season, he was even better; McAdoo led the league in scoring for the first time with a 30.6 PPG average, and made the first of four All-Star teams (the other years were 1975-77) and led the Braves to their first ever playoff berth. His third season was the best of his career; he won another scoring title with a career-best 34.5 PPG and was selected as the NBA's regular season MVP (the only man ever to win the award with the Braves/Clippers) and took Buffalo to a still team record 49-33 record. It seemed that McAdoo and the Braves would have nowhere to go but up.

However, McAdoo's career soon took a southernly turn. During the 1975-76 season, he and Braves owner Paul Synder feuded (Synder even suspended McAdoo for a game when he refused a second opinion on a back injury) and despite winning a third straight scoring title (31.1 PPG), the relationship never healed. By the middle of the next season, he had been traded to the New York Knicks with Tom McMillen for John Gianelli and cash. McAdoo's tenure in New York lasted only two years before he was traded in 1978-79 to the Boston Celtics. The move was done secretly by Celtics owner John Brown, which nearly made Red Auerbach resign as general manager and take the Knicks' GM job. McAdoo was used sparingly by the Celtics before being happily dumped onto the Detroit Pistons as compensation for signing M.L. Carr in 1979.

By the 1980-81 season, McAdoo's reputation was in tatters; the Pistons waived him after one season and six games of the next, and after he and the New Jersey Nets couldn't agree on a contract for the 1981-82 season, it appeared that his career was over, and people considered him a troublemaker and unable to play for a championship team. However, fate intervened; when Los Angeles Lakers PF Mitch Kupchak suffered a devestating knee injury after 26 games in 1981-82, Lakers management gambled and acquired McAdoo's rights from the Nets for a second round draft pick. While many questioned the move, it proved to be a brilliant move; McAdoo averaged 9.6 PPG during the regular season, then averaged a sizzling 16.7 PPG as L.A. went 12-2 and won their second NBA title of the 1980s. In his four seasons with the Lakers, he averaged over 10 PPG three times, and his 13.1 PPG in 1983-84 led all non-starters in the NBA. McAdoo contributed to another Lakers title in 1984-85 before being cast aside for younger players.

McAdoo closed out his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1985-86, but his basketball career wasn't over quite yet. He signed with Tracer Milan in 1986, and led the team to two FIBA European Champions Cups; his first season showed he still had game, with averages of 26.1 PPG and 10.2 RPG. He then played for Filanto Forli (1990-92) and Teamsystem Fabriano (1992-93) before retiring at age 42. McAdoo was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, and currently is in his eleventh season as an assistant coach with the Miami Heat. His career stat line is 18,787 points (22.1 PPG) and 8,048 rebounds (9.4 RPG).

Season-by-Season Statistical Review:
1972-73: 80 GP, 18.0 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 45.2 FG%, 77.4 FT%
1973-74: 74 GP, 30.6 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 54.7 FG%, 79.3 FT%
1974-75: 82 GP, 34.5 PPG, 14.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 51.2 FG%, 80.5 FT%
1975-76: 78 GP, 31.1 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, 48.7 FG%, 76.2 FT%
1976-77: 72 GP, 25.8 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 51.2 FG%, 73.8 FT%
1977-78: 79 GP, 26.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 52.0 FG%, 72.7 FT%
1978-79: 60 GP, 24.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.8 APG, 52.9 FG%, 65.6 FT%
1979-80: 58 GP, 21.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 48.0 FG%, 73.0 FT%
1980-81: 16 GP, 10.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 43.3 FG%, 70.7 FT%
1981-82: 41 GP, 0 GS, 9.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.8 APG, 45.8 FG%, 71.4 FT%
1982-83: 47 GP, 1 GS, 15.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.8 APG, 52.0 FG%, 73.0 FT%
1983-84: 70 GP, 0 GS, 13.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 47.1 FG%, 80.3 FT%
1984-85: 66 GP, 0 GS, 10.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 52.0 FG%, 75.3 FT%
1985-86: 29 GP, 0 GS, 10.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.2 FG%, 76.5 FT%