John Andrew Macknowsky (born Macknowski and formerly Mackin; January 7, 1923 – April 8, 2024) was a Russian-born American professional basketball player.[1] He played in the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Syracuse Nationals franchise as the team moved from the NBL into the NBA.[1][2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1923 Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union |
| Died | April 8, 2024 (aged 101) |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lincoln (Jersey City, New Jersey) |
| College | Seton Hall (1945–1948) |
| BAA draft | 1948: – round, – |
| Selected by the Rochester Royals | |
| Playing career | 1947–1951 |
| Position | Guard / forward |
| Number | 5 |
| Career history | |
| 1947–1948 | Scranton Miners |
| 1948–1951 | Syracuse Nationals |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 823 (7.0 ppg) |
| Assists | 134 (1.1 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Macknowski played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates where he started as a freshman in the 1941–42 season and then served three years of military service during World War II.[3] He returned to the Pirates and played from 1945 to 1948.[3]
Personal life
After his playing career, Macknowski worked as an English, history and philosophy teacher.[4]
In 1952, Macknowski, his wife and his first daughter changed their surname from Macknowski to Mackin.[5] He had three daughters with his wife, Olga, who predeceased him in December 2016, aged 90.[6] As of September 2017, Macknowski resided at a retirement village in Morristown, Tennessee.[7] He turned 100 in 2023, becoming only the second NBA player to turn 100, after Whitey Von Nieda.[4]
Macknowski died on April 8, 2024, at the age of 101.[8]
Career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | FGM | Field-goals made | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | FTM | Free-throws made | ||
| FTA | Free-throws attempted | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | ||
| PTS | Points | PPG | Points per game | ||
| Bold | Career high | ||||
NBL
Source[9]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | FGM | FTM | FTA | FT% | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948–49 | Syracuse | 62 | 146 | 128 | 178 | .719 | 420 | 6.8 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | FGM | FTM | FTA | FT% | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Syracuse | 6 | 3 | 7 | 9 | .778 | 13 | 2.2 |
NBA
Source[1]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Syracuse | 59 | .333 | .736 | 1.1 | 7.4 | |
| 1950–51 | Syracuse | 58 | .301 | .718 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 6.6 |
| Career | 117 | .317 | .727 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 7.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Syracuse | 11 | .390 | .765 | 1.9 | 10.6 | |
| 1950–51 | Syracuse | 2 | .462 | .333 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 6.5 |
| Career | 13 | .398 | .741 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 10.0 | |