| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 September 1950 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
| Listed height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Listed weight | 82 kg (181 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Narrabundah College |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1974: 4th round, 61st overall pick |
| Selected by the Atlanta Hawks | |
| Position | Guard |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Edward Sebastian Palubinskas (born 17 September 1950) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach.
Palubinskas attended Narrabundah College in Canberra, where he practiced different sports (swimming, track and field, football, gymnastics). [1] He started playing basketball at age 14. In Canberra, he played for a team of Lithuanian immigrants. [2] After moving to Melbourne, Palubinskas played for the St. Kilda Saints, winning the Victorian Championship in 1970. [3]
Coach Lindsay Gaze, who back then considered Palubinskas as "the best offensive player in the history of Australia", put him in contact with Dale Brown, who later became his coach at LSU. [1] Palubinskas moved to the US and started his collegiate career at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho in 1970, where he led the US in free throw percentage with 92.4 percents during the 1970–71 season. [4] He holds the record for the most consecutive free throws in a game (14) and 43 consecutive for the season.[ citation needed ] He won NJCAA All-American status at Ricks College (which is now BYU-Idaho) [5] and scored 24 points a game over his two years. [1] In 1972, Palubinskas transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU), after playing in the Munich Olympics where he was the second leading scorer missing the Olympic scoring title by one point. At LSU, Palubinskas had a team-high 18.6 points per game in the 1972–73 season and was selected to the All-SEC Coaches Team. In 1973–74, he was the second leading scorer of the team (18.3 points per game) behind Glenn Hansen. While at LSU, Palubinskas hit 87.5 percent (258-of-295) of his free throws. On 1 March 1973, Palubinskas converted 16 of his 16 free throws against Mississippi State, which put him in first place in the LSU record book. [6]
Palubinskas was selected in the 1974 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round. He was then traded to the New Orleans Jazz and drafted in the eighth round of the ABA draft by the Utah Stars. Palubinskas never played in the NBA. [7] In Australia, he played for the Caulfield Spartans, scoring a record-breaking 66 points in a championship game in 1976. [3]
After being the second leading scorer in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Palubinskas was the top overall scorer in 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He set three Olympic scoring records in Montreal, including the record for most points scored in a single Olympics (269), which was broken by Brazilian Oscar Schmidt during the 1988 Summer Olympics. [8] The most points he scored in one game during the Olympics was in 1976, when he had 48 against Mexico in overtime. [9]
He is a member of the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame. [10]
Palubinskas served as an assistant coach at Brigham Young University from 1986 to 1989. In 1991–92, he held the same position at Louisiana State University. At the high school level in the US, Palubinskas was the head coach at Central Private School in Central, Louisiana from 1992 to 1996. [11] He also was a basketball coach at East Carbon High School in Sunnyside, Utah and East High School in Salt Lake City. [12]
Palubinskas took a position as shooting coach to Shaquille O'Neal with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2000–01 NBA season. [13] Following the Lakers' triumph in the NBA, Palubinskas also received an NBA champion's ring. [14] He also worked with Brandon Bass, Dwight Howard, [15] Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson. [16] He has his own basketball school named The Palubinskas Basketball Academy. [17] Palubinskas published two instructional video tapes ("Secrets to Perfect Shooting Principles" and "The Shooters' Lab") on shooting technique. [12] In 2004, he published his findings on shooting the basketball in the FIBA Assist Magazine. [16]
Palubinskas was born to a Lithuanian father and a Russian mother. [20] [21] Palubinskas is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [22]
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, known commonly as Shaq, is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. He is a 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) and 325-pound (147 kg) center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time.
Peter Press Maravich, known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Maravich, was the team's head coach. Maravich is the all-time leading NCAA Division I men's scorer with 3,667 points scored and an average of 44.2 points per game. All of his accomplishments were achieved before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and despite being unable to play varsity as a freshman under then-NCAA rules.
Andrew Barry Casson Gaze is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He played 22 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Melbourne Tigers from 1984 to 2005, winning the league's MVP award seven times and winning the scoring title 14 times. He also guided the Tigers to two NBL championships, in 1993 and 1997, and was named an All-NBL First Team member for a record 15 consecutive years. Gaze has been described as one of the greatest players Australia has ever produced.
Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and is considered by many to be the greatest European player of all time. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. In 2023, Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine years with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies.
Karl Anthony Malone is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and a 14-time member of the All-NBA Team, which include 11 consecutive First Team selection. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behind LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he holds the records for most free throws made and attempted, and most regular season games started, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant and behind LeBron James.
Robert E. Lee Pettit Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times. As of the end of 2023-2024 regular season, Pettit is still the only regular season MVP in the history of the Hawks. Pettit is the leader for most career rebounds (12,849), and most rebounds per game with 16.2 in Hawks franchise history.
The Hack-a-Shaq is a basketball defensive strategy used in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that involves committing intentional fouls for the purpose of lowering opponents' scoring. The strategy was originally adapted by Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson, who directed players to commit personal fouls throughout the game against selected opponents who shot free throws poorly.
Adrian Delano Dantley is an American former professional basketball player and coach who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dantley is a six-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA selection and a two-time NBA scoring champion. Dantley finished ninth on the all-time NBA scoring list at the time of his retirement and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He served as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA from 2003 to 2011. He played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Charles Richard "Bubba" Wells Jr. is an American basketball coach and former player. He played college basketball for Austin Peay State University and later professionally, including for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA and Dafni in the Greek Basket League.
The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition.
Ronald Glen Davis is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Baby", he played for the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, and the St. John’s Edge.
Harold Arcenaux is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball at Weber State, and is best known for leading the Wildcats to an upset victory over North Carolina in the 1999 NCAA tournament.
Benjamin David Simmons is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. Simmons was selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. After sitting out a year due to an injured right foot, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and was selected three times to the NBA All-Star Game. As the result of a holdout from the 76ers following the 2020–21 season, which led him to be traded to the Nets, Simmons is the most-fined player in NBA history, in terms of total financial loss.
Shareef Rashaun O'Neal is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. The son of Hall of Fame player Shaquille O'Neal, he attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. As a senior forward, O'Neal was ranked among the top high school basketball players of his class. He was a redshirt during his first season in college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, when he underwent heart surgery. He played as a reserve for the Bruins in 2019–20 before transferring midseason to the LSU Tigers.
Antonio Davon Blakeney is an American professional basketball player for the Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and EuroCup. He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers. He played in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls.
Leroy Shaquille "Shaq" Buchanan is an American professional basketball player for Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for Murray State after transferring from Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Darrel Joseph Mitchell Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played high school basketball at St. Martinville Senior High School in St. Martinville, Louisiana, and was named Louisiana Mr. Basketball as a senior in 2002. He then played college basketball with the LSU Tigers, staying for 4 years and reaching the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2006. After going undrafted in the 2006 NBA draft, Mitchell started a professional career in Europe with Turkish team Galatasaray. He participated in the 2007–08 Euroleague with Lithuanian team Lietuvos rytas. He has played in Belgium, Cyprus, France, Lithuania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Keisei Tominaga is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Indiana Mad Ants of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, after having previously played for Ranger College. Tominaga has been a member of the Japan men's national basketball team and the national 3x3 team.
The men's national basketball team of Slovenia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The team was captained by Edo Murić, while the Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić became the third best scorer and the best assist provider of the tournament; he was also included in the FIBA All-Star team of the tournament. This was the first appearance of Slovenia's basketball team at the Olympics.
