Gail Goodrich Bio: Stats, Net Worth, Wife & Hall of Fame

Gail Goodrich is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association League. He played for three major teams throughout his career in the NBA.

Those teams are Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and New Orleans Jazz. Similarly, he was a one-time NBA champion with the Lakers in 1972.

Likewise, he is a five-time NBA All-Star and was also named to the All-NBA First Team. Not to mention, the Lakers retired his jersey number 25 on November 20, 1996.

Aside from that, Charles announced his retirement in his 14th year as a professional. During the time of his retirement, he played for the New Orleans Jazz.

Moreover, the basketball player started his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Currently, the formal athlete serves as a studio analyst for NBA TV.

Furthermore, he was the NBA team’s territorial pick. Besides that, he played collegiate basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

With his exceptional skills, he became a valuable asset to the team. Hence, the UCLA team won its NCAA championship, where he was their leading scorer.

Before getting into details about the legendary basketballer’s life and career, here are some quick facts about him.

Quick Facts

Gail Goodrich | Early Life, Family, and Education

Gail Goodrich was born in California, Los Angeles, United States. His father is Gail Goodrich Sr. However, the athlete’s mother’s name is unknown as of now.

Nonetheless, the player had a good relationship with both of his parents. His parents were extremely supportive of his basketball career.

Nevertheless, they always reminded their son about the importance of education and encouraged him to take his academics as seriously as basketball.

Besides that, the shooting guard’s dad was an outstanding college basketball player. 

Goodrich Sr. played for the University of Southern California in the late 1930s and completely dominated the games.

Although Gail Sr. did not pursue professional basketball, he is well-known for his contribution to college basketball. 

Hence, it is safe to say that Gail Jr. was exposed to basketball from a very young age. Moreover, his interest in basketball grew by watching and learning dribbling from his father.

The former NBA player credits his dad for introducing his passion, basketball, to him. Correspondingly, he considers Gail Sr. his biggest motivator and inspiration. 

Education

Aside from that, the Hall of Famer went to John H. Francis Polytechnic High School. During this time, he played as the starting point guard for the team.

Hence, he averaged an imposing number during this time.

Initially, the former Lakers shooting guard wanted to attend USC as his father had an amazing career there. 

However, he had very little luck as the USC recruiters doubted his abilities and weren’t thrilled with his then 5-foot-8 height. 

In an interview, he said,

“My dad went to USC but did not play professionally because the pros didn’t exist. I had aspirations at a young age of playing college basketball and following in my father’s footsteps.”

Exactly 56 years ago today, UCLA defeated Duke 98-83 to claim its first of 10 titles under the legendary John Wooden.

– Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich led all scorers with 27 Pts
– None of UCLA's starters were taller than 6'5"
– Kenny Washington (6'3") led all players with 12 Reb pic.twitter.com/YXmmy8PZYQ

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 21, 2020

On the other hand, UCLA head coach John Wooden was very enthusiastic about having Goodrich on his team.

As a result of Wooden’s relentless pursuit, Goodrich attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for his further education.

At UCLA, the NBA Champion became the Bruins’ all-time leading scorer and helped the team win two national championships.

Eventually, his exceptional career earned him a retired jersey at the UCLA facility center.

Goodrich often trained with the best players to enhance his skills. Throughout the analyst’s basketball career, he was well known as a team player.

Gail Goodrich | Age, Height, And Weight

The NBA Champion is 80 years old as of April 23, 2024. As a former athlete, he still takes excellent care of his health and diet.

The analyst follows a daily workout routine that includes running, stretching, and a balanced diet.

Besides that, Gail is 6 feet 1-inch-tall, and his listed weight is 170 lb.

Gail Goodrich | Basketball Career

High School And Collegiate Career

The basketballer played high school basketball at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School. He instantly became an offensive threat to the opponent team. 

Similarly, he averaged 29 points to secure victory in the 1961 Los Angeles City high school basketball championship.

Moreover, his love and dedication for basketball were well-displayed when he played the game with a broken ankle.

The former Lakers player still dominated the championship while injured.

Following his high school graduation, the shooting guard had his heart set on attending the University of Southern California. He was ecstatic to play at his father’s former college.

However, due to him being 5 feet 8 inches, USC had a cold-feet. Thus, when UCLA’s interests didn’t decrease, the player eventually chose to attend their college.

Likewise, he played collegiate basketball for the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team. Furthermore, as a rookie, the retired player came off the bench for the team.

At UCLA, Gail played 29 games out of 30 games, averaging 10.4 points per game. Nevertheless, the narrative changed in the following two years. 

Coach John Wooden kept him as the point guard for the starting lineup. Hence, this increased the athlete’s minutes per age and improved his game drastically.

As a sophomore, Goodrich played all 30 games averaging 21.5 points per game. Therefore, due to his amazing performance, the team won the 1964 NCAA Tournament. 

Further, the UCLA basketball team maintained their title run the next year. Here, the analyst played a much bigger role averaging 24.8 points per game.

For the finals in the 1965 NCCA Tournament, he scored 42 points. His points are considered the second-highest point scored in an NCAA Tournament till today.

Besides that, the NBA Champion was UCLA’s all-time leading scorer.

Los Angeles Lakers

Draft, Rookie Season, And First NBA Final

After his junior year at UCLA, he entered the 1965 NBA Draft. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him as a territorial pick.

Further, the champion was a reserve behind Jerry West and Walt Hazzard as a shooting guard. Likewise, he was only 22-years-old during this time.

As a reserve, the Hall of Famer got to average 15.5 minutes per game. He played 65 games averaging 7.8 points per game.

The Lakers did go to the NBA finals that year but lost to the Boston Celtics.

Furthermore, he got into the team’s rotation in the following season. Hence his playing time increased to 23.2 minutes per game. The retired athlete averaged 12.4 points per game while playing 77 games.

Besides that, he had two thirty-plus games against Baltimore Bullets and Chicago Bulls. However, the Lakers lost to the San Francisco Warriors in the semifinals Of the Western Conference.

For his third season with the lakers, his minutes per game increased to 26 minutes. He averaged 13.8 points per game in 79 games.

Although he helped his team in multiple ways, they lost the 1967-68 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.

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Rejoining the Lakers And NBA Championship

After losing Gail in the expansion draft, the Lakers acquired him again for the 1970-71 season. Further, this time Gail was in the starting lineup as a shooting guard.

In the same season, they make it to the NBA finals. But the narrative ends as they lose to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Milwaukee Bucks.

Furthermore, the 1971-72 season truly showed his true potential. The former Laker played all 82 games, averaging a career-high 25.9 points per game.

Not to mention, he scored thirty-plus points in 28 different games. Goodrich secures his first NBA championship in the same season by destroying the New York Knicks.

Moreover, the retired athlete averaged series leading 25.6 points per game. Additionally, he became an offensive machine by leading the Lakers in scoring for four seasons starting from 1971 to 1975.

For the 1972-73 season, the team again successfully reaches the NBA Final. Nonetheless, they receive the same beat down from The New York Knicks in the Finals as they did a year ago.

Likewise, the NBA champion again faced defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks in the 1973-74 season. Although he was first-team All-NBA and second-time all-star, the time still lost the NBA finals second in a row.

On top of that, the retired player was on a tear with his scoring. But the team still couldn’t rise to the championship level in the 1974-75 season.

The next season brought some changes in the professional player’s playing style. He played the point guard position this time.

Even though wonders were done as of this switch, in the end, they failed to seal the deal. Finally, the basketballer became a free agent.

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Phoenix Suns

The Lakers lost Goodrich to the newly formed Phoenix Suns in the 1966 expansion draft. Further, he quickly became the star of the franchise.

Hence, for the first time in his career, he was a full-time starting point guard. The NBA champion averaged 23.8 points per game in 40.0 minutes for 81 games.

Not to mention, the athlete also erupted for forty-plus games in the same season against the Bulls, Warriors, and Rockets.

Furthermore, this outstanding performance earned him a spot in the 1969 NBA All-Star Game.

The basketballer played for 6 minutes scoring 5 points in a loss against the Eastern Team. However, the next season the average slightly decreased.

Goodrich averaged 20.0 points per game in 39.9 minutes for 81 games. Nevertheless, this average was still top on the team.

Despite Goodrich’s best effort, the team had a minus record. As a result, the Suns traded him back to the Lakers for center Mel Counts. 

New Orleans Jazz

After his second stint with the Lakers, he signed a three-year contract with Utah Jazz. The contract was reportedly worth $1.4 million. 

Although he didn’t thrive much initially with the Jazz, he performed his best in the 1977–78 season. Besides that, Gail sustained an Achilles injury in his first season with the New Orleans team. 

Goodrich played his last NBA season in the 1978–79 season. Following that, he officially retired from the basketball league after playing 14 seasons with three different teams. 

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Career Stats

Highlights And Achievements

• 1972 NBA champion 
• Five-time NBA All-Star in 1969 and from 1972 to 1975
• 1974 All-NBA First Team 
• No. 25 retired by Los Angeles Lakers
• Two-time NCAA champion in 1964 and 1965
• 1965 Helms Foundation Player of the Year 
• Consensus first-team All-American in the year 1965
• Two-time First-team All-AAWU in 1964 and 1965
• No. 25 retired by UCLA Bruins
• No. 12 retired by John H. Francis Polytechnic High School
• Included in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996

Gail Goodrich | Marriage, Wife, And Kids

The shooting guard is married to Toni Goodrich. However, she is his second wife. He was previously married to Frances Caldwell. 

Furthermore, the former couple has three kids altogether. Goodrich has a son named Brien and twin daughters named Jaime and Linsay. 

Frances and Gail separated with a divorce when their kids were quite young. Nevertheless, they maintained a cordial relationship to ensure the proper growth of their children. 

Besides that, he and Toni live near Greenwich, Connecticut. His wife is known for her yoga studio in the neighborhood. 

Gail Goodrich | Net Worth And Salary

The former Lakers player has built an impressive net worth amount through his career in the National Basketball League. Besides that, he earns well from his career as an analyst for NBA-TV. 

The basketballer’s net worth is reportedly over $13 million.

Similarly, an average analyst earns a wage of $75,000 per year. With Gail’s knowledge and experience, he must earn a salary close to or over million dollars. 

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Gail Goodrich | Social Media Presence

The former athlete is not active on any social media platforms. Hence, he does not have a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account. 

L.A. native and Lakers Legend: Happy 76th to the great Gail Goodrich! pic.twitter.com/MomlG4ZUV0

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 23, 2019

Gail is old school and likes to enjoy his life at the moment. Similarly, his wife and kids are also not much active on social media. 

Gail Goodrich | FAQs