John Lambert (basketball)

Last updated

John Lambert
John Lambert (basketball), 1975.jpg
Lambert in 1975
Personal information
Born (1953-01-14) January 14, 1953 (age 72)
Berkeley, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
College USC (1972–1975)
NBA draft 1975: 1st round, 15th overall pick
Drafted by Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career1975–1983
Position Center / power forward
Number24
Career history
19751980 Cleveland Cavaliers
19801982 Kansas City Kings
1982 San Antonio Spurs
1982–1983 Reyer Venezia
Career NBA statistics
Points 1,688 (3.8 ppg)
Rebounds 1,493 (3.3 rpg)
Assists 248 (0.6 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference

John Edward Lambert (born January 14, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player born in Berkeley, California. In high school at Berkeley, he played basketball and was a member of The State Champs Berkeley High Yellowjackets, which included Glenn Burke, a professional baseball player. [1] In 2007 he was inducted into the school's new Athletic Hall of Fame. [2]

Contents

A 6'10" center at the University of Southern California, Lambert played varsity basketball at USC for three years. [3] He graduated with honors with a BA in Journalism and Public Relations.

Professional career

Lambert played in the National Basketball Association from 1975 to 1982.

In the 1975 NBA draft, he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as their first pick, [4] and number 15 overall. [5] He signed a multi-year contract in July 1975, and again in September 1979. In November 1980, Cleveland activated Lambert from the injured reserve list; he had been on the list since the beginning of the season, because of back spasms. [6]

In December 1980, Cleveland placed Lambert on waivers; he became a free agent and was signed that month by the Kansas City Kings. In February 1982, Kansas City sent Lambert to the San Antonio Spurs for a third round draft selection in 1984, plus cash. [7] In August 1982 he again was placed on waivers and became a free agent.

In his NBA career, Lambert averaged 3.8 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game, [8] playing in a total of 446 games. [9]

Post-NBA career

In 1986, Lambert began his career in the financial services industry. From 2001 to 2009, he was a Principal with KCM Investment Advisors, where he focused on its high net worth and institutional business. He left in 2009 to join Neuberger Berman; in September 2010 he was promoted to the position of West Coast regional director for that company's wealth management business. [10]

Lambert left Neuberger Berman in 2014 and joined Morgan Stanley as the producing branch manager of their San Francisco, California office. He later moved his high net worth practice to Morgan Stanley's Santa Rosa, California office; [11] he retired in February 2021.

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

NBA

Source [8]

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1975–76 Cleveland 546.2.445.6761.9.3.1.22.3
1976–77 Cleveland 638.8.427.6942.4.5.3.32.5
1977–78 Cleveland 7614.1.423.5634.3.5.4.74.1
1978–79 Cleveland 7014.7.450.6364.1.6.4.44.7
1979–80 Cleveland 7417.9.413.000.7234.8.8.6.65.4
1980–81 Cleveland 32.7.6001.01.0.0.02.0
1980–81 Kansas City 4311.0.406.000.7832.1.6.3.13.4
1981–82 Kansas City 42111.7.432.167.7503.0.6.3.23.4
1981–82 San Antonio 21612.9.448.000.9292.4.6.3.33.1
Career446712.5.428.083.6933.3.6.3.43.8

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1976 Cleveland 65.7.3851.0001.8.2.2.32.0
1977 Cleveland 36.3.5001.0.0.7.01.3
1978 Cleveland 29.5.333.5004.0.0.0.01.5
1981 Kansas City 1511.7.407.000.8332.5.6.3.33.3
1982 San Antonio 21.5.000.000.5.5.0.0.0
Career288.9.400.000.8002.1.4.3.22.4

Notes

  1. Mosher, Terry (January 24, 1995). "He can sing, too". web.kitsapsun.com. Kitsap Sun. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  2. Bhattacharjee, Riya (June 8, 2007). "Berkeley High Inagurates [sic] Sports Hall of Fame. Category: Features from The Berkeley Daily Planet". www.berkeleydailyplanet.com. Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. "John Lambert College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  4. Brown, Kyle (November 17, 2020). "A history of Cleveland Cavaliers NBA draft picks". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  5. "USC Juniors Young And Pruitt Selected In The 2007 NBA Draft". University of Southern California Official Athletic Site. June 28, 2007. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  6. "The Cleveland Cavaliers Monday waived forward Jerome Whitehead and..." UPI. November 17, 1980. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  7. "Cavaliers Get Robinson". The New York Times. February 17, 1982. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "John Lambert NBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  9. Resnick, Steven (May 29, 2010). "NBA Draft Busts Of the 70's and 80's". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  10. "John Lambert promoted at Neuberger Berman". San Francisco Chronicle. September 8, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  11. "John Lambert - Santa Rosa, CA - Morgan Stanley". Morgan Stanley. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.