Career Highlights
- Known for his defensive prowess, Hutchins long arms made him adept at blocking shots and rebounding
- Named to several All-America teams after he led the Cougars to the 1951 NIT championship, including first-team honors by Look, Helms, and Sporting News and third-team honors by UPI
- Set the BYU career record for rebounds (900) in just two seasons of recorded rebounding statistics; Kresimir Cosic broke the record in 1973
- Hutchins went on to star in the NBA, being named to five all-star teams during his seven years in the league ... named rookie of the year in 1952.
After BYU
- Drafted with the second pick in the first round by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks
- An avid golfer Hutchins gained recognition in amateur golf in northern California
- After basketball Hutchins worked in real estate
Post BYU Honors and Societies
Selected as the No. 2 overall pick of the 1951 NBA Draft (when No. 1 pick Gene Melchiore was given a lifetime ban from playing in the NBA, Hutchins was recognized as being the No. 1 overall pick and was given the $7,000 bonus that was awarded to the top pick in the NBA Draft)
Played his NBA rookie season for the Milwaukee Hawks (now Atlanta)
Named the 1952 NBA Rookie of the Year
Led the NBA in rebounding (880) and was second in rebounding average (13.3) as a rookie (Hutchins and Wilt Chamberlain in 1960 are the only two players in NBA history to lead the league as a rookie)
Held the NBA single-season record for rebounds for a player under 6-6 until 1987 when Charles Barkley broke the record
Starter and Co-Captain of two Western Conference Championship teams (Fort Wayne, now the Detroit Pistons, 1955 and 1956). Fort Wayne lost in the Finals in 1955, and again in 1956
Played in four NBA All-Star games (1953, 1954, 1956, 1957), started in three (1953, 1954, 1956); also named an all-star in 1958 but was injured and did not play
Finished fourth in NBA MVP voting in 1956, behind Bob Pettit, Paul Arizin and Bob Cousy
Retired from the NBA following a severe knee injury in 1958
NBA career totals: 4,851 points, 4,186 rebounds and 1,298 assists
In 2010, ESPN’s Dave Ramsey called Mel one of the “greatest defenders in NBA history”
- While playing for the Fort Wayne Pistons, his team won the Western Division title three times
- Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1976
Stats
Year G FGM FTM P-AVE47-48 26 67 36 170-6.549-50 34 153 94 400-11.850-51 37 227 117 571-15.4Totals 97 447 247 1141-11.8
