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Phil Jordon Basketball player

Philip Jordon (12 Sept. 1933 – 7 June 1965) was a Native American basketball player.A 6'10" center from Whitworth University, Jordon played seven seasons (1956–1963) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Cincinnati Royals, and St. Louis Hawks. He averaged 10.9 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game in his career. Jordon was a member of the Knicks' team that surrendered 100 points to the Philadelphia Warriors' Wilt Chamberlain on 2 March 1962. However, Jordon missed that game, being ill with what was officially reported as influenza, though it was widely suspected that he was hungover. Whatever Jordon's illness actually was, his absence is often cited as a reason for Chamberlain's high point total, since it left the Knicks with only one player (Darrall Imhoff) large enough to guard Chamberlain.Jordon drowned after a rafting accident in Washington State on 7 June 1965. His raft, which was carrying four men, broke apart, and his body was discovered floating in Puget Sound on 27 June.Jordon was of Wailaki and the Nomlaki Native American descent.His son, Jon Jordon, played for Central Washington University.