HurricaneDij999

A fiesty 6-4 guard, Mike Newlin was the long-time backcourt mate of Rockets Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy.  Drafted in the second round out of Utah in 1971 draft (the Rockets' first year in Houston), Newlin would be known as one of the original Houston Rockets.  He broke into Houston's starting lineup in his sophomore season, where he averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.  Newlin would go on to spend his first eight seasons in Houston, which included a conference finals appearance in 1977 and a 1973-74 campaign in which he averaged 18.4 points per game.

Then, in 1979, Newlin was traded to New Jersey, where, in his two seasons there, put up the best offensive numbers in his career, averaging 20.9 and 21.4 points per game, respectively.  However, the Nets didn't have much talent around him, and Newlin was traded in 1981 to the New York Knicks in exchange for current Hawks coach Mke Woodson.  In his final NBA season in 1981-82, Newlin averaged 9.3 points per game for the Knicks, mostly as a bench player.

For his career, Newlin totaled 12,507 points and averages of 14.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.  He also averaged 14.8 points per game in 22 career Playoff contests.