Phil Jordon is the Redwood Empire’s forgotten NBA big man. Born in 1933, Phil attended Willits High School, moving to Spokane after receiving a scholarship to play basketball for Whitworth College. His opportunities in a small town were limited and his ability as an athlete of unusual height, provided his chance. His early life was not easy, his father died when he was a teenager and mother Elizabeth had to care for the four boys and his sister.

When the scholarship was offered, it included a home. His Native culture was only evident with his family and friends. The Nome Cult Trail in 1863 brought together many tribes in Northern California during its awful forced march from Paskenta to the Round Valley Reservation. Phil’s Nomlaki and Wailaki heritage was created at this time.

At Whitworth College, Phil’s team was Collegiate Champion in 1954 and in 1956, Phil was on the Buchan Bakers AAU Championship team. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1956 of the NBA, which had only eight teams. Phil Jordon was the first Native American to play in the NBA, a trailblazer, and like his African American teammates, suffered from racists and bigots of the times.

Phil was an effective big man of that era, averaging over 10 points a game, scoring with a hook shot, from both hands. He played alongside and against the greats of those times, teaming with Bob Cousy, and Oscar Robertson and against Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. The only reason Wilt scored 100 points in an NBA game, was because Phil was ill and could not suit up.

He played also for the Cincinnati Royals, Detroit Pistons and the St. Louis Hawks, from 1956-1963. On January 5, 2025, the Golden State Warriors honored Phil Jordon with a halftime celebration, including native dancers from Northern California, and Paskenta Tribal Dancers. The Warriors presented his sister Shirley and daughter Juliana with a Certificate of Excellence on his behalf.

The Nomlaki Band of Paskenta Indians has a Federal Reservation near Corning, California, created in 1994, and after many years of effort to become recognized. Phil died by drowning on the Puyallup River, in Tacoma, Washington in 1963.