Jawann Oldham
Jawann Oldham was an American professional basketball player who was a center in the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Seattle Redhawks before being selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 1980 NBA draft. Oldham played 10 seasons in the NBA for eight teams.
Early life and college career
Oldham was born in Chicago and grew up in Seattle, where he attended Cleveland High School and Seattle University, with 1,530 points and 965 rebounds during his college career, after which he was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 1980 NBA draft with the 41st overall pick.Career
NBA
In his NBA career, Oldham played in 329 games and scored a total of 1,455 points, playing for the Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers. He was the last Bulls player to wear #33 before Scottie Pippen.CBA
Oldham played in the Continental Basketball Association for the Montana Golden Nuggets during the 1980–81 season, Santa Barbara Islanders during the 1989–90 season, Rapid City Thrillers during the 1990–91 season, Tulsa Zone during the 1991–92 season, Oklahoma City Cavalry during the 1992–93 season and Chicago Rockers during the 1995–96 season. He was selected to the CBA All-Defensive Team in 1992.International
Oldham won gold as part of the US basketball team at the 1979 Summer Universiade.Post-NBA
Oldham was instrumental in founding the Korean Basketball League in South Korea and the Chinese Basketball Alliance in Taiwan in the 1990s, and developed and coached for the bj league in Japan; the Jawann Oldham Professional Development Basketball Academy operates in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.Oldham died in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 5, 2026, at the age of 68.