Les Selvage

Who was Les Selvage?

Lester Revell Selvage was an American professional basketball player.

A 6'1" guard from Beaumont High School in St. Louis, Missouri, Selvage played college basketball at Kirksville State Teachers College. He was named to the All-MIAA First Team in 1963. After college, he moved to California to work with Douglas Aircraft, but continued to play Amateur Athletic Union basketball on the side. He was discovered and signed by the ABA's Anaheim Amigos in 1967, and appeared in 78 games for the team during the 1967-68 season, averaging 14 points per game. Selvage also was briefly a member of the 1969-1970 Los Angeles Stars team.

Selvage was known for his eagerness to shoot three-pointers, and led the ABA in three-point field goals made and attempted during the 1967-68 season. Selvage himself attempted more threes that season than any other ABA team except the Pittsburgh Pipers, and once shot 26 three-pointers in a single game, making 10. Former Denver Rockets coach Bob Bass recalled, "He acted like if he stepped over [the three-point line], he was going to get killed or something. He didn't just shoot 25-footers — he took 30-footers. [...] All he could do was shoot, and he shot too much.