Wayne Embry, Miami (Men's Basketball)
Wayne Embry has performed record-setting accomplishments as a player at Miami University, as an 11-year veteran of the NBA, as a pioneer for his race as the NBA’s first African-American general manager and team president, and as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Embry was a three-year letter winner in basketball (1955-56; 1956-57; 1957-58) at Miami up to his graduation with a Bachelor of Science in 1958.
Embry was a two-time All-MAC player and was a third-team Helms Athletic Foundation All-American as a senior in 1957-58. He led Miami to conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1957 and 1958. Embry led the MAC in scoring and rebounding his last two seasons and still holds several school records, including best career rebounding average (15.5 rpg).
He currently ranks No. 12 on Miami’s all-time scoring list with 1,401 points and No. 2 on the all-time rebounding list with 1,117. Embry holds both Miami records for most rebounds in a game (34) and season (488). Embry is one of only 14 players in MAC history to total more than 1,000 career points and rebounds.
Miami University retired jersey number 23 in his honor. Embry also received the highest honor a basketball player/coach/contributor can achieve with his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., as a contributor.
Following his graduation, he was originally drafted by the St. Louis Hawks. Embry played 11 seasons of professional basketball with the Cincinnati Royals, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, and was a five-time NBA All-Star. Embry won an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 1968. Embry scored 10,380 career points (12.5 ppg), recorded 7,544 rebounds (9.1 rpg) and dealt 1,194 assists (1.4 apg) in 831 career NBA games.
In 1971, Embry was named Milwaukee’s General Manger, becoming the first African American GM in the NBA. From 1985 to 1992, Embry was vice president and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers and became the NBA’s first African American team president with the Cavaliers in 1994.
The Sporting News named him NBA Executive of the Year in 1992 and 1998. Embry was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970. He currently serves as the Senior Basketball Advisor to the President for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
Outside of basketball, Embry has served as a Member of the Board for the following companies and organizations: Centerior Energy Corporation, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Kohl’s, M.A. Hanna, Ohio Casualty Insurance Company, and PolyOne. Within the last decade, a stretch of U.S. Route 40 in front of Tecumseh High School near Springfield, Ohio, was named in Wayne Embry’s honor. He has also been a generous donor to Miami University.
Embry and his wife, Terri, have three children, a son Wayne, R., and daughters Debbie and Jill. The couple resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.
