South Benbow Future Outlook

A lot of great athletes played basketball at Benbow Park. Perhaps none went on to the level of success that Robert “Bob” McAdoo reached.

The 1975 NBA MVP and Hall of Fame member could soon be enshrined at the Benbow Park basketball court, at Benbow Road and South Side Boulevard.

The city of Greensboro’s Parks & Recreation Commission recently accepted an application to name the court for McAdoo.

The commission will meet Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Glenwood Recreation Center and again on March 13 at 5:30 at Leonard Recreation Center to hear public input and discuss the possible name change of the basketball court.

According to Parks & Rec park planner Erin Kennedy, this would be only the second Parks & Rec outdoor basketball court to be named for someone. The other is Ken Free Sr. Court, which is at Barber Park.

After a standout career at Smith High School, and later, junior college, McAdoo enrolled at the University of North Carolina. He would go on to be named MVP of the ACC Tournament and lead the Tar Heels to the 1972 Final Four.

McAdoo was drafted No. 2 overall by the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) in the NBA Draft. In his 14-year NBA career, McAdoo was honored as the 1973 Rookie of the Year, the 1975 NBA MVP, and he led the league in scoring for three seasons.

McAdoo won two NBA Championships as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers 1982 and 1985. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Before he became a professional basketball star, McAdoo spent many hours of his youth days playing basketball at the Benbow Park court.