Joe Louis Caldwell (born November 1, 1941) is an American former professional basketball player.

When he was six, Caldwell witnessed the Texas City disaster in 1947, when a docked ship blew up and 581 people died with thousands injured.

[1][2] Caldwell attended John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, not playing until his junior year.

Caldwell played for Arizona State from 1961 to 1964, setting the Sun Devils career scoring record with 1,515 points (18.2 ppg).

Caldwell led Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his three varsity seasons and a 65–18 overall record.

Team U.S.A. went 9–0 under coach Hank Iba to capture the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, Japan.

Caldwell scored 14 points for the US in the 73–59 gold medal game victory over the Soviet Union.

After averaging 21.1 points per game for the Atlanta Hawks in the 1969–70 NBA season, Caldwell averaged a team-leading 25 points per game during the 1970 NBA playoffs, as the Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Division Finals.

Caldwell denied doing this but he was suspended for "activities detrimental to the best interests of professional basketball."