Archibald, a playground legend while growing up in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood in the South Bronx, of New York City, played high school basketball for only one-and-a-half seasons, and was cut from the varsity squad at DeWitt Clinton High School as a sophomore. He returned to the team as a junior. During his time without basketball, Archibald briefly flirted with dropping out of school after having been largely truant in past years. But with the help of two mentors, Floyd Layne and Pablo Robertson, Archibald turned it around. Robertson, a former standout at Loyola of Chicago and a Harlem, New York playground impresario, had seen the gifted, mercurial Archibald in action on the playgrounds and convinced the young man's high school coach to re-instate him on the squad. Despite playing only in blowouts as a junior, the shy, quiet teen managed to blossom into a high-school star, being named team captain and an All-City selection in 1966. Off the court, Archibald began to attend school regularly and worked to improve his poor academic standing, which deterred most colleges from offering him a scholarship. To improve his chances of playing major college basketball, Archibald enrolled at Arizona Western College, transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso the following year. He had three standout seasons at El Paso, from 1967 to 1970 under Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins.
Professional career
Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City Kings
Archibald was selected in the second round of the 1970 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals. He was also drafted by the Texas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association. In his NBA debut, Archibald recorded 17 points and 7 assists in a 128-104 loss to the New York Knicks. On November 18, 1972, Archibald recorded 51 points and 14 assists in a 127-117 win over the Houston Rockets. In 1972–73 season, Archibald led the NBA in scoring and assists, becoming the only player to win the titles in both categories in the same season. His scoring average of 34.0 points per game broke the NBA record for a guard and, as of 2020, is still a record for point guards. His 910 assists that season was also an NBA record at the time, breaking Guy Rodgers' mark of 908. He was named the Sporting News NBA MVP that season. Archibald played for the Kansas City Kings from 1970 to 1976.
Injured for much of the 1976–77 season, he was traded by the Nets to the Buffalo Braves before the 1977–78 season. Archibald tore his achilles tendon and never played a regular-season game for the Braves.
Boston Celtics
Buffalo traded him to the Boston Celtics as part of a 7-player deal before the start of the next season. His career at the Celtics started poorly. He showed up 20 pounds overweight. However, he adjusted and helped guide the Celtics to the best record in the NBA for three consecutive years. Archibald won his first and only NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1980–81 season alongside young NBA star Larry Bird. In Game 6 of the 1981 NBA Finals, Archibald recorded 13 points and 12 assists as the Celtics closed out the series against the Houston Rockets.
He completed his bachelor's degree from University of Texas-El Paso by going back for three consecutive summers just prior to finishing his NBA career. He then taught in the New York City school system and attended night school at Fordham University. He received a master's degree from Fordham University in 1990 and a professional diploma in supervision and administration in 1994. He began long-distance correspondence work toward a doctorate from California Coast University in 2000 but ceased his studies because of "his lack of funds and the motivation to complete a long-distance correspondence curriculum." He has stated his hope to complete the degree in the future at Fordham. Archibald was an assistant coach, spending one season in the University of Georgia and two with Texas-El Paso. He has also coached the New Jersey Jammers of the USBL and in a Boston recreational league. Archibald coached in the National Basketball Development League in 2001. He resigned a year later to take a position with the NBA's community relations department. Archibald was also named the head coach for the Long Beach Jam in 2004 in the revived ABA, but he would ultimately resign from his position on January 17, 2005 during their second and final season in the ABA.
