Last Updated on April 17, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Here’s the information about Bill Cartwright:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: James William “Bill” Cartwright
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born July 30, 1957
  • Hometown: Lodi, California, USA
  • Height: 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
  • Weight: 245 lbs (111 kg) during his playing career
  • Wingspan: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
  • Shoe Size: US size 17
  • Number: Primarily wore #24 during his NBA career
  • Position: Center
  • High School: Elk Grove High School (Elk Grove, California)
  • College: University of San Francisco (played for the Dons, 1975–1979)
  • NBA Draft: Selected 3rd overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks
  • Teams Played For:
    1. New York Knicks (1979–1988)
    2. Chicago Bulls (1988–1994)
    3. Seattle SuperSonics (1994–1995)
  • Championship Rings: 3 NBA Championships (with the Chicago Bulls, 1991, 1992, 1993)
  • Kids: 4 children (Justin, Jason, James, and Kristin Cartwright)
  • Siblings: Information on siblings is not widely publicized.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Bill Cartwright’s player archetype was that of a traditional back-to-the-basket center, the kind of old-school big man who gave structure to a team through size, screens, interior scoring, and rugged positional defense. At 7-foot-1 and 245 pounds, he had the frame and strength to hold ground in the paint, and his offensive role leaned toward post touches, mid-range face-ups, offensive rebounding, and the sort of bruising screen-setting that helped create space for teammates. Defensively, he was more anchor than roamer, using his length, physicality, and experience to battle opposing centers, protect the lane by presence, and absorb difficult matchups without needing flashy block totals to make his value felt. The broader play style was steady rather than explosive: Cartwright brought toughness, polish, and a calming interior presence, which made him especially useful as a dependable veteran center on contending teams. (Basketball Reference)

Fun Facts

  • He had an unusual free throw shooting technique and jump shot. He would start with the ball not facing the rim and rotate his wrists around to the eventual shooting position. To this day, I’ve never seen another basketball player shoot the ball similar to Cartwright.

Sources:

NBA.com — Bill Cartwright | Center | New York Knicks
Basketball-Reference — Bill Cartwright Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
Chicago Bulls — Ring of Honor – Bill Cartwright
Los Angeles Times — He’s Creating Elbow Room in the Middle : Bulls center Bill Cartwright has overcome obstacles of race and injuries to become an important member of his team
University of San Francisco Dons — William “Bill” Cartwright (1986) – Hall of Fame