Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015.

Haywood was born on April 22, 1949, in Silver City, Mississippi. He was born three months after his father died, and had 10 brothers and sisters. He grew up in poverty and his family worked as sharecroppers on the Mississippi delta. He was born at home with a midwife, and never received a birth certificate, his name being written in a family bible to record his birth. At age 13, he was the main source of income for his family, earning as little as $2/day or $4/day picking cotton. He worked from sunup to sundown, under the eyes of the landowner's overseer. He spent a night in jail at age 14, after being falsely charged with threatening to kill a white man. Fearing for his well-being, Haywood's mother sent him to live with his brother in Chicago.

In 1964, Haywood moved to Detroit, Michigan where he lived with his brother, residing in the Krainz Woods neighborhood. He attended Pershing High School, playing under coach Will Robinson. In 1966, age 16, at 6 ft, 7 in (2.01 m) and 220 pounds (99.8 kg), he averaged 29 points and 17 rebounds per game for Pershing's basketball team, and was named All-State in basketball. As a senior in 1967, now 6 ft, 8 in (2.03 m) tall, Haywood averaged a quadruple double per game: 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists, and 12 blocked shots. He led the team to the state championship, winning the championship game 90–66. It is considered one of the great teams in Michigan high school basketball history; and not only included Haywood, but also future American Basketball Association five-time All-Star Ralph Simpson.

Haywood was originally planning to go to the University of Tennessee, but with the help of coach Robinson, instead attended Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado. During the 1967–68 college season, he averaged 28.2 points and 22.1 rebounds per game, and was the Junior College Player of the Year.

In 1968, many African-American college players boycotted playing in the Olympics, which gave Haywood the unusual opportunity as a freshman to make the Olympic team. Players were not simply selected to the team, but had to participate in seven days of tryout games in Albuquerque, New Mexico, held in "the Pit". Prominent college players like Pete Maravich and Calvin Murphy were cut before making the Olympic team, while Haywood, known as "the kid", was the first player chosen by coach Hank Iba. Due to his exceptional performance and talent, Haywood made the 1968 U.S. Olympic team at age 19, becoming the youngest American basketball player in Olympic history.

In the turmoil of the times, he attended a meeting before the Olympics started, that included Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Lee Evans and Dr. Harry Edwards (who spearheaded the boycott effort and urged some African-American athletes to make statements during the games, though this was not expected of 19-year olds Haywood and George Foreman).

Haywood was the leading scorer on the gold medal-winning team at 16.1 points per game, and he set a Team USA field goal percentage record of .719. His record 145 points in the Olympic tournament stood until 2012 (when Kevin Durant scored 155 points; but who also had a three-point shot available unlike the 1968 games). When he arrived in Detroit after the Olympics, he was greeted at the airport by 4,000 people, including Governor George Romney.

Haywood transferred to the University of Detroit in the fall of that year, and led the NCAA in rebounding with a 22.1 average per game while scoring 32.1 points per game during the 1968–69 season. He was named an All-American. This is considered the single greatest year of any basketball player for the Titans.^{[citation needed]} In 1993, Haywood was inducted into the Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame. The school retired his No. 45 in 2015.