Fat Lever facts for kids
Lever during the 1982–83 season
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | August 18, 1960 Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. |
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| High school | Pueblo (Tucson, Arizona) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Arizona State (1978–1982) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1982 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1982–1994 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1982–1984 | Portland Trail Blazers | |||||||||||||
| 1984–1990 | Denver Nuggets | |||||||||||||
| 1990–1994 | Dallas Mavericks | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Points | 10,433 (13.9 ppg) | |||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 4,523 (6.0 rpg) | |||||||||||||
| Assists | 4,696 (6.2 apg) | |||||||||||||
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Medals
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Lafayette "Fat" Lever (born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for many years. After retiring, he worked for the Sacramento Kings as a player development director and a radio analyst.
Contents
Early Life and Nickname
Lever was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was the second of three sons. His younger brother, Elmer Jr., gave him the nickname "Fat." Elmer Jr. had trouble saying all the syllables in Lafayette.
When Lever was young, his mother moved to work in the west. He and his brothers lived with their grandparents for a year. In 1971, they joined their mom in Tucson, Arizona.
Playing in the NBA
Starting with the Portland Trail Blazers (1982-1984)
The Portland Trail Blazers picked Lever in the 1982 NBA draft. He was the 11th player chosen overall. He had played college basketball at Arizona State.
In his very first NBA game, Lever scored 9 points. He also had 7 assists and 4 steals. Soon after, he got his first "double-double." This means he reached double digits in two different stats in one game. He had 14 points and 13 assists.
During his first season, Lever averaged 7.8 points per game. He also averaged 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
Becoming a Star with the Denver Nuggets (1984-1990)
Lever became one of the NBA's best point guards while playing for the Denver Nuggets. He joined the team in 1984. In his first game with the Nuggets, he scored 14 points and had 12 assists.
On November 6, he had 24 points and 18 assists in a game. This was the first time a Nuggets player had done this. On March 9, he achieved his first "triple-double." This means he got double digits in three stats. He had 13 points, 15 assists, and a career-high 10 steals.
Even though he was only 6 feet 3 inches tall, Lever often led the Nuggets in rebounding. He is the Nuggets' all-time leader in steals. He is also second in career assists for the team.
Lever is one of only three players in NBA history to get 15 or more points, rebounds, and assists in a single playoff game. The other two are Wilt Chamberlain and Jason Kidd.
Finishing His Career with the Dallas Mavericks (1990-1994)
Lever was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1990. He played for the Mavericks for a few seasons. He missed the entire 1992–93 season because of a knee injury.
He left the Mavericks in 1994. He finished his NBA career with impressive averages. He had 13.9 points, 6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.22 steals per game.
Career Highlights and Achievements
Fat Lever had many great achievements during his career. He was chosen for the NBA All-Star team twice. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1987. In 1988, he made the All-Defensive Second Team.
He is known for getting many "triple-doubles." As of the end of the 2020–21 regular season, he ranks 11th all-time with 43 triple-doubles. This puts him ahead of famous players like Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On December 2, 2017, the Denver Nuggets honored him. They retired his number 12 jersey. This means no other Nuggets player will wear that number again.
NBA Career Statistics
These tables show Fat Lever's performance in the NBA.
Regular Season Stats
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–83 | Portland | 81 | 45 | 24.9 | .431 | .333 | .730 | 2.8 | 5.3 | 1.9 | .2 | 7.8 |
| 1983–84 | Portland | 81 | 22 | 24.8 | .447 | .200 | .743 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 1.7 | .4 | 9.7 |
| 1984–85 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 31.2 | .430 | .250 | .770 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 2.5 | .4 | 12.8 |
| 1985–86 | Denver | 78 | 77 | 33.5 | .441 | .316 | .725 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 2.3 | .2 | 13.8 |
| 1986–87 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 37.2 | .469 | .239 | .782 | 8.9 | 8.0 | 2.5 | .4 | 18.9 |
| 1987–88 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 37.3 | .473 | .211 | .785 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 2.7 | .3 | 18.9 |
| 1988–89 | Denver | 71 | 71 | 38.7 | .457 | .348 | .785 | 9.3 | 7.9 | 2.7 | .3 | 19.8 |
| 1989–90 | Denver | 79 | 79 | 35.8 | .443 | .414 | .804 | 9.3 | 6.5 | 2.1 | .2 | 18.3 |
| 1990–91 | Dallas | 4 | 0 | 21.5 | .391 | .000 | .786 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 1.5 | .8 | 7.3 |
| 1991–92 | Dallas | 31 | 5 | 28.5 | .387 | .327 | .750 | 5.2 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .4 | 11.2 |
| 1993–94 | Dallas | 81 | 54 | 24.0 | .408 | .351 | .765 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.0 | .2 | 6.9 |
| Career | 752 | 599 | 31.7 | .447 | .310 | .771 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 2.2 | .3 | 13.9 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 1 | 26.5 | .519 | .000 | .875 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 16.5 | |
Playoff Stats
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Portland | 7 | 0 | 19.1 | .452 | .000 | .800 | 2.0 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .0 | 6.0 |
| 1984 | Portland | 5 | 0 | 15.0 | .267 | .667 | .800 | 3.0 | 1.8 | .8 | .0 | 10.0 |
| 1985 | Denver | 11 | 8 | 31.1 | .402 | .000 | .762 | 6.5 | 8.5 | 2.4 | .2 | 13.3 |
| 1986 | Denver | 10 | 10 | 34.7 | .450 | .571 | .708 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 2.0 | .2 | 14.3 |
| 1987 | Denver | 3 | 3 | 33.0 | .380 | .250 | .667 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 2.3 | .0 | 15.3 |
| 1988 | Denver | 7 | 7 | 39.0 | .459 | .429 | .788 | 9.3 | 7.0 | 1.9 | .6 | 17.0 |
| 1989 | Denver | 2 | 2 | 29.0 | .375 | .667 | 1.000 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 2.0 | .0 | 11.0 |
| 1990 | Denver | 3 | 3 | 37.7 | .373 | .143 | .929 | 10.7 | 7.0 | 2.7 | .3 | 17.3 |
| Career | 48 | 33 | 30.0 | .414 | .409 | .775 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 1.9 | .2 | 12.4 | |
See also
In Spanish: Fat Lever para niños
- List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career triple-double leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff triple-double leaders
- List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game
- List of National Basketball Association single-game steals leaders
