Fat Lever facts for kids
![]() Lever during the 1982–83 season
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Born | Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. |
August 18, 1960 |||||||||||||
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) | |||||||||||||
Medals
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Lafayette "Fat" Lever (born August 18, 1960) is a former American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for several years. After his playing career, he worked for the Sacramento Kings. He was the director of player development and also an analyst for their radio broadcasts.
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 Fat was ten, his mother moved west for work. He and his brothers lived with their grandparents for a year. In 1971, they joined their mother in Tucson, Arizona.
Playing in the NBA
Fat Lever was known as one of the best point guards in the NBA during the late 1980s. He was especially good at getting rebounds, even though he was not a very tall player.
Portland Trail Blazers (1982-1984)
The Portland Trail Blazers picked Lever as the 11th player in the 1982 NBA draft. He had played college basketball at Arizona State. In his very first NBA game, he scored 9 points and had 7 assists. On January 20, 1983, he achieved his first "double-double." This means he had double-digit numbers in two different stats, like 14 points and 13 assists. He played two seasons with the Trail Blazers. During his first season, he averaged 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
Denver Nuggets (1984-1990)
Lever joined the Denver Nuggets in 1984. In his first game with the Nuggets, he had 14 points and 12 assists. On November 6, 1984, he made history for the Nuggets. He recorded 24 points and 18 assists in a game against the Lakers. This was the first time a Nuggets player had done that.
Triple-Doubles and Records
On March 9, 1985, Lever achieved his first "triple-double." This means he had double-digit numbers in three different stats. He scored 13 points, had 15 assists, and an amazing 10 steals in that game. He was 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 were Wilt Chamberlain and Jason Kidd.
Lever was the Nuggets' all-time leader in steals. He was also second in career assists for the team. His jersey number 12 was retired by the Denver Nuggets on December 2, 2017. This means no other Nuggets player will wear that number.
Dallas Mavericks (1990-1994)
In 1990, Lever was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He missed the entire 1992–93 season because of a knee injury. He left the Mavericks in 1994. He finished his NBA career with averages of 13.9 points, 6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.22 steals per game.
Career Highlights
Fat Lever had many great achievements during his basketball career:
- He was chosen for the NBA All-Star team two times (1988 and 1990).
- He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1987.
- He was also on the All-Defensive Second Team in 1988.
- As of the end of the 2020–21 regular season, he ranks 11th on the all-time list for most triple-doubles in the regular season. He had 43 triple-doubles in 11 seasons. This is more than famous players like Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
NBA Career Statistics
Legend | |||||
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GP | Games 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 |
Regular Season Stats
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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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 |
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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