{{short description|American basketball player}} {{distinguish|Paul Walter}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox NBA biography | name = Paul Walther | image = | width = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 2 | weight_lb = 160 | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|03|23}} | birth_place = Covington, Kentucky, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2014|12|21|1927|03|23}} | death_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | high_school = Covington Catholic<br/>(Park Hills, Kentucky) | college = Tennessee (1944–1945, 1947–1949) | draft_year = 1949 | draft_round = – | draft_pick = – | draft_team = Minneapolis Lakers | career_start = 1949 | career_end = 1955 | career_number = 14, 5 | career_position = Shooting guard / small forward | years1 = {{nbay|1949|start}} | team1 = Minneapolis Lakers | years2 = {{nbay|1949|start}}–{{nbay|1952|end}} | team2 = Indianapolis Olympians | years3 = {{nbay|1953|full=y}} | team3 = Philadelphia Warriors | years4 = {{nbay|1954|full=y}} | team4 = Fort Wayne Pistons | highlights = * NBA All-Star (1952) * First-team All-SEC (1949) | stats_league = NBA | stat1label = Points | stat1value = 2,838 (7.7 ppg) | stat2label = Rebounds | stat2value = 1,168 (3.7 rpg) | stat3label = Assists | stat3value = 974 (2.6 apg) }} '''Paul Philip Walther''' (March 23, 1927 – December 21, 2014) was an American professional basketball player.
==Life== Walther was born in Covington, Kentucky, as the third of six children to George A. and Rosalie Walther.<ref name=obit/> He was a graduate of Covington Catholic High School.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rcnky.com/articles/2014/12/24/covington-native-nba-all-star-dies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227065333/http://rcnky.com/articles/2014/12/24/covington-native-nba-all-star-dies |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 27, 2014 |title=Covington Native, NBA All Star Dies |date=December 24, 2014 |accessdate=March 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Paul-Walther-4756/playerblog/ |title=Paul Walther |publisher=draftexpress.com |accessdate=March 4, 2015 |archive-date=October 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002084656/http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Paul-Walther-4756/playerblog/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was a 6'2" guard/forward at the University of Tennessee, where he was coached by Emmett Lowery. His playing career was split by World War II, when he served in the United States Navy.<ref name="ml"/> Walther returned in 1947.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hoops All-American Paul Walther Passes Away |url=https://utsports.com/news/2014/12/22/Hoops_All_American_Paul_Walther_Passes_Away |website=University of Tennessee Athletics |access-date=May 23, 2026 |date=December 22, 2014}}</ref> He was team captain at Tennessee during 1948–49, his final season there.<ref name="ml"/>
Walther played six seasons (1949–1955) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers, Indianapolis Olympians, Philadelphia Warriors, and Fort Wayne Pistons. He averaged 7.7 points per game in his career and appeared in the 1952 NBA All-Star Game.<ref name="bref">{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/walthpa01.html |title=Paul Walther |publisher=basketball-reference.com |accessdate=December 20, 2009}}</ref>
After his basketball career, Walther worked 32 years for Merrill Lynch in Chicago.<ref name="ml">{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12072902/former-nba-player-paul-walther-dies-87 |title=Former player Paul Walther dies at 87 |date=December 23, 2014 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=ESPN |access-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref>
Walther died on December 21, 2014,<ref name=obit>{{cite web |title=Paul WALTHER Obituary |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nhregister/name/paul-walther-obituary?id=23544960 |website=New Haven Register |publisher=Legacy |access-date=May 23, 2026}}</ref> in Atlanta at the age of 87.<ref name="knox">{{cite web|url=http://www.knoxnews.com/govolsxtra/basketball/paul-walther-basketball-allamerican-for-ut-dies-at-87_98330856|title=Paul Walther, basketball All-American for UT, dies at 87|publisher=Knox News.com|accessdate=December 23, 2014|archive-date=January 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126085510/http://www.knoxnews.com/govolsxtra/basketball/paul-walther-basketball-allamerican-for-ut-dies-at-87_98330856|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== NBA career statistics == {{NBA player statistics legend}}
=== Regular season === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG |- | style="text-align:left;" |1949–50 | style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis |22 | – |.400 |.524 | – |.5 |3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1949–50 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |31 | – |.390 |.591 | – |1.5 |7.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1950–51 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |63 | – |.336 |.694 |3.6 |'''3.6''' |9.1 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1951–52 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |55 |34.6 |'''.401''' |'''.750''' |'''4.5''' |2.5 |'''12.2''' |- | style="text-align:left;" |1952–53 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |67 |'''36.8''' |.352 |.746 |4.2 |3.1 |10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1953–54 | style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia |64 |32.3 |.352 |.704 |4.0 |3.4 |6.6 |- |1954–55 |Fort Wayne |'''68''' |12.1 |.348 |.614 |2.3 |1.9 |2.4 |- | | style="text-align:left;" |Career |370 |28.6 |.362 |.708 |3.7 |2.6 |7.7 |}
=== Playoffs === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG |- | style="text-align:left;" |1950 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |6 | – |.293 |.474 | – |1.3 |5.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1951 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |3 | – |.429 |.733 |1.7 |'''3.0''' |5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1952 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |2 |42.5 |.500 |.889 |3.5 |'''3.0''' |'''16.0''' |- | style="text-align:left;" |1953 | style="text-align:left;" |Indianapolis |2 |37.5 |.250 |'''.941''' |'''4.0''' |2.0 |13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1955 | style="text-align:left;" |Fort Wayne |'''10''' |9.5 |'''.545''' |.611 |2.0 |.8 |3.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" |Career |23 |18.2 |.377 |.724 |2.4 |1.5 |6.2 |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, Paul}} Category:1927 births Category:2014 deaths Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:American men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from Kentucky Category:Covington Catholic High School alumni Category:Fort Wayne Pistons players Category:Indianapolis Olympians players Category:Merrill (company) people Category:Minneapolis Lakers draft picks Category:Minneapolis Lakers players Category:NBA All-Stars Category:Philadelphia Warriors players Category:Shooting guards Category:Small forwards Category:Sportspeople from Covington, Kentucky Category:Tennessee Volunteers basketball players Category:Undrafted NBA players Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
{{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub}}