Lucius Allen

Last updated

Lucius Allen
Walt Frazier and Lucius Allen.jpeg
Allen (right) defending Walt Frazier of New York in 1969
Personal information
Born (1947-09-26) September 26, 1947 (age 77)
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school Wyandotte (Kansas City, Kansas)
College UCLA (1966–1968)
NBA draft 1969: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career1969–1979
Position Point guard
Number42, 7, 40
Career history
1969–1970 Seattle SuperSonics
19701974 Milwaukee Bucks
19741977 Los Angeles Lakers
19771979 Kansas City Kings
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 9,407 (13.4 ppg)
Rebounds 2,205 (3.1 rpg)
Assists 3,174 (4.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Lucius Oliver Allen Jr. (born September 26, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. He is one of only a select few players to have won at least one high school state championship, collegiate national championship, and NBA championship.

Contents

Early life

Allen was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, and played basketball for Wyandotte High School. During this time, he was a prep All-American player under head coach Walter Shublom and was named consensus first-team all-state as a junior and senior as he led Wyandotte to back-to-back Class AA state championships in 1964 and 1965.

College career

During his freshman year, Allen scored the very first points ever scored in Pauley Pavilion history during the annual freshman vs varsity game. During that game, the freshmen defeated the varsity 75–60. During his freshman season, the UCLA freshmen team finished the season undefeated and Allen averaged 22.4 points per game. His roommate was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was then known as Lew Alcindor. During his sophomore year, Allen played on the varsity team and averaged 15.5 points per game while helping lead the Bruins to an undefeated 30–0 season and the 1967 National Championship. Allen was named to the NCAA Championship and Regional All-Tournament teams. During his junior year, he averaged 15.1 points per game and helped the Bruins win a second consecutive NCAA Championship while playing alongside Abdul-Jabbar. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team and was selected as a second-team All-American.

Professional career

Following his junior year, Allen entered the 1969 NBA draft and was selected 3rd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. As a member of the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks team, which also featured Alcindor, Allen earned an NBA championship ring. They would both return to the NBA Finals in 1974 before losing to the Boston Celtics in 7 games. This was Allen's last season in Milwaukee, during which he arguably played his greatest professional game, a 39-point and 6 assist effort during a loss against the Detroit Pistons on January 2. [1] He also played with Alcindor—now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—for two seasons (1975–77) in Los Angeles, but did not win a championship in either of those years. Allen was traded the following season to the Kansas City Kings, winning the division championship in 1979, and retired from basketball after that season.

Allen played 10 years in the NBA for four teams. His highest scoring average was 19.1 points per game, during the 1974–75 season. [2] Part of the way through that season he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after playing with the Milwaukee Bucks since the 1970–71 season.

Later life

After finishing his basketball career, which included a high school state championship, college national championship, and an NBA championship, Allen turned his attention to coaching aspiring players in the Los Angeles area. [3]

Legacy and awards

In 1999, The Topeka Capital-Journal named Lucius Oliver Allen Jr. of Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, as the greatest Kansas high school basketball player of the 20th century. New Arena named Allen as the best basketball player of all-time from the State of Kansas. [4] Allen was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2000. He was inducted into the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball Hall of Honor on March 16, 2013. [5]

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 [6]

Regular season

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1969–70 Seattle 8122.4.442.7312.64.29.8
1970–71 Milwaukee 6119.0.447.7002.52.67.1
1971–72 Milwaukee 8029.0.505.7643.24.213.5
1972–73 Milwaukee 8033.7.484.7153.55.315.5
1973–74 Milwaukee 7233.2.495.7884.05.21.90.317.6
1974–75 Milwaukee 1034.2.415.8383.15.31.40.116.7
1974–75 L.A. Lakers 5635.9.440.7704.45.72.20.519.5
1975–76 L.A. Lakers 7631.4.459.7762.84.71.30.314.7
1976–77 L.A. Lakers 7831.8.456.7743.25.21.50.214.6
1977–78 Kansas City 7727.9.441.7913.04.71.20.411.9
1978–79 Kansas City 3113.3.397.5761.51.40.70.25.1
Career70228.7.463.7603.14.51.50.313.4

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1971 Milwaukee 1422.3.506.7142.93.77.3
1972 Milwaukee 1135.1.470.7593.53.817.9
1973 Milwaukee 633.8.404.7862.73.515.7
1977 L.A. Lakers 726.6.390.6844.63.41.60.411.0
1979 Kansas City 514.6.4691.0001.40.60.40.27.2
Playoffs4327.0.449.7563.13.31.10.311.8

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References

  1. "Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons Box Score, January 2, 1974".
  2. Lucius Allen. NBA.com.
  3. "Train with Lucius, a Basketball coach on CoachUp".
  4. "RANKED: The Best Basketball Player of All-Time From Each State".
  5. "Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor to induct 2012-13 class".
  6. "-Lucius Allen NBA stats". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved July 13, 2023.