Alex Groza Was Banned For Life in 1951

Published on July 7th, 2023 2:54 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Imagine a scenario like this taking place in the modern NBA.

A much-hyped #2 overall draft pick lives up to the hype and immediately becomes one of the best players in the league, making the All-NBA First Team in each of his first two seasons in the league.

This player wins the Rookie of the Year award and averages 22/10 through the first two years of his career.

After these two seasons, the player is banned from the NBA for life.

This is the story of Alex Groza.

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Alex Groza had one of the most decorated careers in the history of college basketball.

Groza was the center on Kentucky from 1945-1949, and led the team to two straight titles in 1948 and 1949.

Groza, who was the captain of the team that would become known as the "Fabulous Five", was a 3-time All-American, 3-time All-SEC and 2-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

On top of all of that, Groza also win a gold medal with the 1948 Olympic basketball team.

It's no surprise that Groza was the #2 overall pick in the 1949 NBA Draft.

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Groza dominated in his first two seasons with the Indianapolis Olympians, averaging 23.4 PPG and 21.7 PPG respectively.

Groza also averaged well over 10 rebounds per game.

Then, in a blink of an eye, Groza's NBA career was over.

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In the early 1950s, a scandal erupted that shook college basketball to its core - the CCNY point-shaving scandal.

The unravelling of the scandal started when somebody offered Junius Kellogg $1,000 to shave points in an upcoming game against DePaul.

Kellogg, despite working at a minimum wage job, refused the bribe and went to his coach.

Law enforcement became involved, and eventually a massive point-shaving scandal came to light.

32 players from seven different colleges were found to have accepted bribes, and one of those players was Alex Groza, who reportedly accepted a bribe of $2,000 to shave points in a game.

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The NBA cracked down heavily on the players involved, banning everybody who was found to have accepted a bribe from their league for life.

One of those players was Alex Groza, the promising, 2-time 1st Team All-NBA player.

Just like that, Groza was gone, never to return. No leniency. No reinstatement.

Gone for life.