Education
Marshfield High School.
Marshfield High School.
He played in college for Oregon State University and was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1964 National Basketball Association Draft. Halfway through that season he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, who made it to the playoffs that year. The next three seasons Counts" Lakers made it to the National Basketball Association Finals, where they would play in and ultimately lose three years in a row.
In the 1969 National Basketball Association Finals, Counts indirectly played a role in one of the most controversial coaching decisions in National Basketball Association history.
In game 7, starting Laker center Wilt Chamberlain, who had never fouled out of a game, picked up his 5th foul with 6 minutes to play. A minute later, Wilt came off the floor limping and was replaced by Counts with the Lakers trailing the Celtics by nine points.
The Lakers cut the deficit to one point on a shot by Counts, with coach Butch van Breda Kolff refusing to reinsert Chamberlain into the game in the final minutes even though Wilt said his knee felt good enough to play. The Lakers lost the game, 108-106, and the series, 4-3.
(As it turned out, Chamberlain severely injured the same knee early the next season and missed 70 games The fiery van Breda Kolff was fired).
Counts played one more season with the Lakers before being traded to the Phoenix Suns with the Lakers gaining the return of hall of famer Gail Goodrich (he started with the Lakers but went to Phoenix in the 1967 expansion draft). After several more stops around the league, including a return to the Lakers in 1973, Counts ended his career with the New Orleans Jazz in 1976. As of 2006, he was working as a real estate agent in Woodburn, Oregon.