Roundfield earned a reputation as a strong rebounder and tenacious defender, and during his career he was named to five NBA All-Defensive teams and three All-Star teams. His nickname was Dr. Rounds.
Professional career
Roundfield was selected in the 2nd round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but opted to play for the Indiana Pacers in the last season of the ABA. After a nondescript rookie season, Roundfield was suddenly pressed into duty as starting power forward and jumped center in his second season as the Pacers had traded away Mel Daniels before his rookie season and Tom Owens went to the Houston Rockets. He was signed by the Atlanta Hawks as a free agent before the 1978–79 season; the Pacers received the Hawks' first round pick as compensation, which they used to select Dudley Bradley.
On November 21, 1978, Roundfield scored a career best 38 points, along with grabbing 10 rebounds, in a 113–107 win over the San Diego Clippers.[1] In the 1979 NBA Playoffs, Roundfield led the Hawks to a first round win over the Rockets while averaging 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks a game.[2] However, in the following round, the Hawks would be eliminated by the defending champion Washington Bullets in a tough seven-game series.[3] Roundfield was selected to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star team in three consecutive seasons from 1980 to 1982. He made the most of his 1980 All-Star appearance debut, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in 27 minutes coming off the bench. He came close to winning the game's MVP award for his performance, but was overshadowed by fellow Detroit product George Gervin's 34-point output. In the 1982 NBA Playoffs, Roundfield scored a career playoff high 29 points, in a deciding Game 2 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in a best of three first round series.[4]