{{short description|American basketball player}} {{For|the British journalist and newspaper executive|Denis Hamilton}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Dennis Hamilton | image = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 8 | weight_lb = 210 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|5|8}} | birth_place = Huntington Beach, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2012|6|18|1944|5|8}} | death_place = Chandler, Arizona, U.S. | high_school = Huntington Beach<br/>(Huntington Beach, California) | college = Arizona State (1963–1966) | draft_year = 1966 | career_start = | career_end = | career_number = 52, 12, 4 | career_position = Power forward | years1 = {{nbay|1967|full=y}} | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers | years2 = {{nbay|1968|full=y}} | team2 = Atlanta Hawks | years3 = 1969–1970 | team3 = Pittsburgh Pipers | years4 = 1970–1971 | team4 = Kentucky Colonels | highlights = * Second-team All-WAC (1966) }} '''Dennis Eugene Hamilton''' (May 8, 1944 – June 18, 2012) was an American basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1971.
Hamilton, a 6'8" forward from Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, California, played collegiately at the Arizona State University from 1963 to 1966. For his career, he scored 1,079 points (13.6 per game) and shot .813 from the free throw line. He was named second team All-Western Athletic Conference in 1966.<ref>{{cite web| title = Sun Devil Cager Great Dennis Hamilton Passes Away, Member of Sun Devil 1,000-Point Club| publisher = Arizona State University Athletics| year = 2012| url = http://www.thesundevils.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061912aad.html| accessdate = June 22, 2012| url-status=dead| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120902075138/http://www.thesundevils.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061912aad.html| archivedate = September 2, 2012| df = }}</ref>
Undrafted after the completion of his college career, Hamilton signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 1967–68 NBA season. For the season he averaged 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game for a team that made it to the 1968 NBA Finals. Following the season, Hamilton was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 1968 NBA expansion draft, then traded to the Atlanta Hawks for the 1968–69 NBA season. Hamilton then played two years in the American Basketball Association, for the Pittsburgh Pipers and Kentucky Colonels. For his NBA/ABA career he averaged 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Hamilton died on June 18, 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title= Former Laker Dennis Hamilton dies at 68 |author= Chuck Schilken|newspaper= Los Angeles Times |date= June 20, 2012|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-dennis-hamilton-20120620,0,785423.story |accessdate=June 22, 2012}}</ref>
==Career statistics== {{NBA player statistics legend}}
===NBA/ABA=== Source<ref name=bbr>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilde01.html|title=Dennis Hamilton NBA & ABA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=29 June 2024}}</ref>
====Regular season==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- |style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1967}} |style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 44 || 8.6 || .500 || || '''1.000''' || 1.6 || .7 || 2.8 |- |style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1968}} |style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 25 || 5.6 || '''.552''' || || .400 || 1.2 || .3 || 3.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| {{abay|1969}} |style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh (ABA) | '''72''' || '''18.5''' || .507 || .000 || .760 || '''4.7''' || '''1.0''' || '''6.3''' |- |style="text-align:left;"| {{abay|1970}} |style="text-align:left;"| Kentucky (ABA) | 3 || 3.7 || .500 || – || '''1.000''' || .3 || .3 || 1.0 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (NBA) | 69 || 7.5 || .520 || || .833 || 1.5 || .6 || 2.9 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (ABA) | 75 || 17.9 || .507 || .000 || .762 || 4.5 || 1.0 || 6.1 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (overall) | 144 || 12.9 || .511 || .000 || .773 || 3.1 || .8 || 4.6 |}
====Playoffs==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1968 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 2 || 5.5 || .333 || – || 1.0 || .5 || 1.0 |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilde01.html Career Stats]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Dennis}} Category:1944 births Category:2012 deaths Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:American men's basketball players Category:Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Category:Atlanta Hawks players Category:Basketball players from Huntington Beach, California Category:Huntington Beach High School alumni Category:Kentucky Colonels players Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:Phoenix Suns expansion draft picks Category:Pittsburgh Pipers players Category:Power forwards Category:Undrafted NBA players