John Lucas II facts for kids
Lucas with the Maryland Terrapins, c. 1974
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | October 31, 1953 Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| High school | Hillside (Durham, North Carolina) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Maryland (1972–1976) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1976 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1976–1992 | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1991–present | |||||||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||
| 1976–1978 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 1978–1981 | Golden State Warriors | |||||||||||||
| 1981–1983 | Washington Bullets | |||||||||||||
| 1983 | Lancaster Lightning | |||||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Milwaukee Bucks | |||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Seattle SuperSonics | |||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Wichita Falls Texans | |||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1993 | Miami Tropics | |||||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Philadelphia 76ers | |||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Denver Nuggets (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Los Angeles Clippers (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2023 | Houston Rockets (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
As player:
As coach:
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Points | 9,951 (10.7 ppg) | |||||||||||||
| Assists | 6,454 (7.0 apg) | |||||||||||||
| Steals | 1,273 (1.4 spg) | |||||||||||||
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Medals
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John Harding Lucas II (born October 31, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). John Lucas was amazing at both basketball and tennis while studying at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was even named an All-American in both sports!
Contents
John Lucas's College Days
John Lucas went to the University of Maryland. Here, he became an All-American in basketball. In the 1973–74 season, he was a Second-team All-American. His team, the Terrapins, had a great record of 23 wins and 5 losses. They also won 9 out of 12 games in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). However, they lost in the ACC Tournament and could not go to the NCAA Tournament that year.
After some teammates graduated, Lucas became a First-team All-American in the 1974–75 season. The Terrapins had an even better record of 24 wins and 5 losses. They won the ACC regular season title with 10 wins and 2 losses. They made it to the NCAA Tournament, which had grown to include 32 teams. Maryland reached the Elite Eight, but then lost to Louisville.
Lucas also played for the U.S. national team in the 1974 FIBA World Championship. His team won the bronze medal, which is a big achievement!
In his final college season, 1975–76, Lucas was again a First-team All-American. The Terrapins had a record of 22 wins and 6 losses. They didn't make the NCAA Tournament that year.
Becoming an NBA Star
In 1976, John Lucas was the very first player picked in the 1976 NBA draft. The Houston Rockets chose him. He was also drafted by the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association.
Lucas played in the NBA for fourteen years. He started with the Rockets for two years. Then, he moved to the Golden State Warriors. On October 20, 1978, he scored his career-high of 35 points in a game against the Trail Blazers.
After playing for the Warriors, Lucas signed with the Washington Bullets. He later played for the San Antonio Spurs and returned to the Houston Rockets. In the 1986 season, he became a regular starter for the Rockets.
In January 1987, the Milwaukee Bucks gave Lucas another chance. He signed a short contract that led to a full one for the rest of the season. At 33 years old, he averaged a career-high 17.5 points per game for Milwaukee in 1986–87. On May 8, 1987, he scored 30 points to help the Bucks win a playoff game against the Boston Celtics. He played four more years in the NBA, often coming off the bench as a reserve player.
Lucas also played a few games in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 1991–92. He was coaching the Miami Tropics at the time and helped a player named Roy Tarpley make his debut.
Career Statistics
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Houston | 82 | - | 30.9 | .477 | - | .789 | 2.7 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 11.1 |
| 1977–78 | Houston | 82 | - | 35.8 | .435 | - | .772 | 3.1 | 9.4 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 12.4 |
| 1978–79 | Golden State | 82* | - | 37.7 | .462 | - | .822 | 3.0 | 9.3 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 16.1 |
| 1979–80 | Golden State | 80 | - | 34.5 | .467 | .286 | .768 | 2.8 | 7.5 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 12.6 |
| 1980–81 | Golden State | 66 | - | 29.1 | .439 | .167 | .738 | 2.3 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 8.4 |
| 1981–82 | Washington | 79 | 53 | 24.6 | .426 | .091 | .784 | 2.1 | 7.0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 8.4 |
| 1982–83 | Washington | 35 | 0 | 11.0 | .473 | .000 | .500 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| 1983–84 | San Antonio | 63 | 39 | 28.7 | .462 | .275 | .764 | 2.9 | 10.7 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 10.9 |
| 1984–85 | Houston | 47 | 21 | 24.6 | .462 | .318 | .798 | 1.8 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 11.4 |
| 1985–86 | Houston | 65 | 65 | 32.6 | .446 | .308 | .775 | 2.2 | 8.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 15.5 |
| 1986–87 | Milwaukee | 43 | 40 | 31.6 | .457 | .365 | .787 | 2.9 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 17.5 |
| 1987–88 | Milwaukee | 81 | 22 | 21.8 | .445 | .338 | .802 | 2.0 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 9.2 |
| 1988–89 | Seattle | 74 | 8 | 11.4 | .398 | .265 | .701 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| 1989–90 | Houston | 49 | 18 | 19.1 | .375 | .299 | .764 | 1.8 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| Career | 928 | 266 | 27.5 | .449 | .303 | .776 | 2.3 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 10.7 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Houston | 12 | - | 35.8 | .540 | - | .765 | 2.8 | 6.9 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 14.7 |
| 1981–82 | Washington | 7 | - | 10.6 | .538 | .333 | .667 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4.4 |
| 1984–85 | Houston | 5 | 4 | 30.4 | .325 | .143 | .636 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 13.6 |
| 1986–87 | Milwaukee | 12 | 12 | 30.2 | .453 | .333 | .813 | 2.1 | 5.2 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 15.6 |
| 1987–88 | Milwaukee | 5 | 0 | 16.0 | .370 | .231 | .667 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| 1988–89 | Seattle | 4 | 0 | 9.3 | .294 | .000 | .500 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Career | 45 | 16 | 25.2 | .451 | .261 | .746 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 11.2 | |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–73 | Maryland | 30 | - | - | .538 | - | .703 | 2.8 | - | - | - | 14.2 |
| 1973–74 | Maryland | 28 | - | - | .511 | - | .753 | 2.8 | - | - | - | 20.1 |
| 1974–75 | Maryland | 24 | - | - | .549 | - | .836 | 4.2 | - | - | - | 19.5 |
| 1975–76 | Maryland | 28 | - | - | .511 | - | .778 | 3.9 | - | - | - | 19.9 |
| Career | 110 | - | - | .525 | - | .778 | 3.4 | - | - | - | 18.3 | |
Coaching Basketball Teams
John Lucas later became a basketball coach. He started as a coach for the Miami Tropics. He even won two championships with them in 1992 and 1993.
He has coached several NBA teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers. His best coaching time was with the Spurs. In the 1992–93 season, he took over as coach and led the team to a great record of 39 wins and 22 losses. They even reached the Western Conference semi-finals! The next year, the Spurs finished with 55 wins and 27 losses.
Before becoming a head coach for the Cavaliers, he was an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets for three seasons. Lucas also helped players like Indiana Pacers guard T. J. Ford with their training.
In 2009–10, Lucas joined the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant coach. He also worked with former NFL player JaMarcus Russell in 2010 to help him with his career.
In July 2016, Lucas returned to the Houston Rockets as a player development coach. This means he helped players improve their skills. In November 2020, he became an assistant coach for the Rockets under head coach Stephen Silas.
Head Coaching Record
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | 1992–93 | 61 | 39 | 22 | .639 | 2nd in Midwest | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
| San Antonio | 1993–94 | 82 | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2nd in Midwest | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
| Philadelphia | 1994–95 | 82 | 24 | 58 | .293 | 6th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Philadelphia | 1995–96 | 82 | 18 | 64 | .220 | 7th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Cleveland | 2001–02 | 82 | 29 | 53 | .354 | 7th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Cleveland | 2002–03 | 42 | 8 | 34 | .190 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 431 | 173 | 258 | .401 | 14 | 6 | 8 | .429 |
Playing Professional Tennis
John Lucas was not just a great basketball player; he was also a fantastic tennis player! While at Maryland, he was an All-American in tennis. He won the ACC number one singles championship twice, in 1974 and 1976. He was even named the McKelvin Award winner as the best all-around athlete in the conference.
Lucas played in several professional tennis tournaments. His best result was reaching the semi-finals in a doubles event in Raleigh, North Carolina. He teamed up with Fred McNair for that match.
He also played World Team Tennis for the San Francisco Golden Gaters in 1976. In 1978, he played for the New Orleans Sun Belt Nets. He and his partner, Renée Richards, were a successful mixed-doubles team.
In 2005, Lucas was the head coach of the Houston Wranglers. This team included famous tennis players like Steffi Graf and Mardy Fish.
About John Lucas's Family
John Lucas has two sons who are also involved in basketball. His older son, John Lucas III, played college basketball at Oklahoma State. He also played for several NBA teams.
His younger son, Jai, played college basketball at the University of Texas. Jai is now an assistant coach at Duke University.
See also
In Spanish: John Lucas para niños
- List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
- List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game
