The Index · Legend

Chuck CooperBoston Celtics · #11

Forward · 6'7", 220 lb · 6th season

Chuck Cooper is a retired forward and Basketball Hall of Famer, most associated with the Boston Celtics. A pioneer — the first Black player drafted by the NBA. Career averages: 6.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Boston Celtics roster More Forwards

Balladex Impact · 53

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

◆ Rated

Boston Celtics · #11 · Forward

Chuck Cooper

Season avg3.9 pts · 3.2 reb · 0.9 ast · .316 fg

Career avg6.1 pts · 5.4 reb · 1.6 ast · .332 fg

IMPACTBalladex Impact 53 — Rotation piece tierINDEXChuck Cooper · Boston CelticsIMPACTBalladex Impact 53 — Rotation piece tierINDEXChuck Cooper · Boston Celtics

Scouting report

Chuck Cooper — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.

C-

Hall of Fame forward · Impact 53

Chuck Cooper is a retired forward and Basketball Hall of Famer, most associated with the Boston Celtics. A pioneer — the first Black player drafted by

C-

Offense

Defense

C-

Feel / IQ

Playmaking

Below average creator

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Scoring

Average scorer

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C-

Rebounding

Average on the glass

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3PT / spacing

Below average spacing

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Perimeter D

Below average on the perimeter

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Paint / rim D

Below average at the rim

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Clutch

Average late

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C+

Athleticism

Average tools

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C-

Basketball IQ

Reads the game

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Durability

Availability

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Act II

Where Chuck Cooper stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

✦ Balladex Consensus: Rotation piece tier — a blend of Impact, production and résumé.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

53Impact index

104Star score

Career scoring average6.1 ppg

Seasons in the index6

Accolades on file1

HOF Hall of Fame

Stat explorer

Chuck Cooper — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

Scoring

3.9 PPG

drill in ↓

Playmaking

0.9 APG

drill in ↓

C-

Rebounding

3.2 RPG

drill in ↓

Shooting

— 3P%

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Chuck Cooper

Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected 1956-57 69% confidence

3.8

pts

1.9–5.7

2.9

reb

2.0–3.8

0.9

ast

0.2–1.6

17.6

min

proj

health

.326

fg%

~base

—

3p%

~base

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 6-season history below.

What moves the points line vs last season

Last season 3.9 → projected 3.8 PPG

Minutes / role

-0.1

Development (his trend)

-0.1

Age curve

+0.0

Live context

+0.1

Net vs last season-0.1 PPG

Everything it reads

📊

6 seasons of per-minute rates

every box line, minutes-normalized

real

⚖

Recency × games-played weight

recent, healthy seasons anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Weighted least-squares trend

his own trajectory, read season over season

+dev

🕰

Per-stat aging curves

age — — applied per stat

curve

🔌

Live role context

usage & role shifts fold in when the feed is present

+ctx

🏥

Durability signal

GP last 3: 70 / 35 / 32 → games & confidence

health

The real history it trains onsource: Basketball-Reference · verified

Chuck Cooper career stats, season by season

Career stats by season
Season	GP	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FG%
1951-52 (Boston)	66	29.9	8.2	7.6	2.0	.361
1952-53 (Boston)	70	28.5	6.5	6.3	1.6	.337
1953-54 (Boston)	70	15.7	3.3	4.3	1.1	.299
1954-55 (Milwaukee)	70	25.0	8.2	5.5	2.2	.339
1955-56 (St. Louis)	35	16.4	5.1	3.9	1.7	.337
1955-56 (Fort Wayne)	32	17.8	3.9	3.2	0.9	.316
Career	343	23.2	6.1	5.4	1.6

Source: Basketball-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers Tonight's projection, EraLab, and the role simulator — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = MVP / Championship season · hover any bar. Real per-game data; per-36 & totals derived.

EraLab · the stat time machinenovel

Re-express a season in today's pace-and-space.

—raw PPG

→

—in 2026 pace

why

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

A.C. Green 99%Andrei Kirilenko 99%Andres Nocioni 99%Bob Gross 99%Bobby Jones 99%

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Scoring map · clickable zonesShotChart

Team-tinted. Modeled where tracking data is absent.

Role simulatorpowered by GM engine

Change the roster around him — his projection updates live.

If a key teammate misses 20 games →

Projected line shifts to — usage , assists rise as primary initiator. Title odds . Illustrative.

Context

Are the Boston Celtics built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

63–19proj record

#2conf seed

+8.4net rtg

120off rtg

111.7def rtg

99%playoff odds

Roster delta · what changed

Drop coverage — Sits the big back to wall off the rim and lives with contested mid-range looks.. Core trending steady. Defensive anchors: Mitchell Robinson, Derrick White.

How his role moves

Projected 63–19, 2nd in the East. Real team projection from the roster + last-season baselines. His usage, minutes and creation load move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

53 of 99

Rotation piece tier.

Rarity

◆ Rated

Collectible tier.

Résumé

1 accolades

HOF Hall of Fame

Act IV

The Ballad of Chuck Cooper

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

Boston Celtics

Turning pro

Drafted 1950 as a Forward.

true

Chuck Cooper is a Basketball Hall of Famer. A pioneer — the first Black player drafted by the NBA.

Chapter

He averaged 6.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists over his career.

Where things stand

A Hall of Fame forward and Boston Celtics name.

▶

Cooper's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Chuck Cooper | Hall of Fame Career Retrospective ▶ Black History Month: Hall of Famer Chuck Cooper Makes History

Off the court

Measurables

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 220 lb
Draft: 1950
Jersey: #11

Legacy

A pioneer — the first Black player drafted by the NBA.

The person

A Hall of Fame forward and Boston Celtics name.

Hall of Fame

Boston Celtics

All-Star

FAQ

Chuck Cooper — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Chuck Cooper, answered.

What were Chuck Cooper's career averages?

Chuck Cooper averaged 6.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Is Chuck Cooper in the Hall of Fame?

Yes — Chuck Cooper is enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Chuck Cooper career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.