Lucius Allen facts for kids
Allen (right) defending Walt Frazier of New York in 1969
|
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1947 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| High school | Wyandotte (Kansas City, Kansas) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | UCLA (1966–1968) |
| NBA Draft | 1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Pro career | 1969–1979 |
| Career history | |
| 1969–1970 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1970–1974 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1974–1977 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1977–1979 | 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) |
Lucius Oliver Allen Jr. (born September 26, 1947) is a former American professional basketball player. He is one of the few players who won a high school state championship, a college national championship, and an NBA championship. This is a very rare achievement in basketball!
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Lucius Allen was born on September 26, 1947, in Kansas City, Kansas. He grew up in a large family with nine children. As a teenager, he learned and improved his basketball skills at the Kensington Community Center.
Allen went to Wyandotte High School from 1962 to 1965. During his three years on the basketball team, he was amazing. He averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game. He also set a school record for the most points scored in a single game.
His team, coached by Walter Shublom, was very successful. They reached the Kansas state Class AA high school championship game all three years Allen played. In his junior and senior years (1964 and 1965), Lucius led Wyandotte to win back-to-back state championships. In 1965, he was named a second-team All-American by Parade Magazine. He was also named the most valuable player in the state tournament in both 1964 and 1965.
Allen was also a talented baseball player. He played first base for Wyandotte's 1964 state champion baseball team.
College Career at UCLA
In 1965, Lucius Allen was recruited by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He chose UCLA over more than 70 other schools. He wanted to play for the famous coach John Wooden. Wooden had won many national championships at UCLA.
Allen joined UCLA with another future basketball legend, Lew Alcindor (who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). During their freshman year (1965-66), Allen and Abdul-Jabbar played on the freshman team. Allen scored the very first points ever in Pauley Pavilion, UCLA's basketball arena. In a game against the varsity team, the freshmen won 75–60. Allen scored 16 points and had 8 rebounds in that game. The freshman team finished their season undefeated with a 21–0 record. Allen averaged 22.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Winning National Championships
In his sophomore year (1966-67), Allen became a starting guard for the UCLA varsity team. He played alongside Abdul-Jabbar and other great players. Allen averaged 15.5 points per game, which was second only to Abdul-Jabbar. The Bruins had a perfect 30–0 season and won the 1967 National Championship. In the championship game against the University of Dayton, Allen scored 19 points and had 9 rebounds. He was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team.
During his junior year (1967-68), Allen continued to play a key role. He averaged 15.1 points and 6 rebounds per game. The Bruins won their second straight NCAA Championship. Their only loss that season was against the Houston Cougars, led by Elvin Hayes. This game was called the “Game of the Century” because it was so exciting and had over 52,000 fans watching. Allen was the top scorer for UCLA in that game with 25 points.
UCLA later got their revenge against Houston in the 1968 NCAA national semifinals. Allen had a fantastic game with 19 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. UCLA then won the championship game against the University of North Carolina. Allen was again named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. He was also chosen as a second-team All-American.
Allen left UCLA after his junior year. He needed to earn money to help his family because his mother was sick.
Professional Basketball Career
Lucius Allen entered the 1969 NBA draft in 1969. He was picked third overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. This was a big deal, as only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Neal Walk were chosen before him.
Playing for the Seattle SuperSonics
As a rookie with the SuperSonics, Allen played under player-coach Lenny Wilkens. Wilkens was one of the first Black head coaches in the NBA. Allen learned a lot from him. In his first season, Allen averaged 9.8 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Joining the Milwaukee Bucks
In 1970, Allen was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. This was exciting because he rejoined his old UCLA teammate, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Bucks also had another basketball legend, Oscar Robertson.
In the 1970-71 season, Allen was a backup point guard. The Bucks had an amazing season, winning 66 games. They went on to win the NBA championship! They swept the Baltimore Bullets 4–0 in the finals. Allen played an important role coming off the bench.
Allen's playing time increased in the next few seasons. In 1971-72, he averaged 13.5 points per game. In 1973-74, he had his best scoring season with the Bucks, averaging 17.6 points per game. He also averaged 5.2 assists and 1.9 steals.
Unfortunately, Allen got a knee injury right before the 1974 playoffs. This was a big loss for the Bucks. They made it to the 1974 NBA Finals but lost to the Boston Celtics. Many people, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, believed the Bucks would have won if Allen had been healthy.
Moving to the Los Angeles Lakers
In November 1974, Allen was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He had a great season with the Lakers in 1974-75, averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. His 2.1 steals per game were among the best in the NBA.
In 1975, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also traded to the Lakers. This meant Allen and Abdul-Jabbar were teammates for the third time! The Lakers improved, and Abdul-Jabbar was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Allen continued to be the starting point guard, playing almost 32 minutes per game.
In the 1976-77 season, the Lakers finished first in their division. Allen averaged 14.6 points and 5.2 assists. However, he suffered a foot injury during the playoffs. The Lakers lost in the Western Conference finals to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Finishing with the Kansas City Kings
In 1977, Allen was traded to the Kansas City Kings. This was special for him because it was his hometown team. He played as the Kings' starting point guard in the 1977-78 season. He averaged 11.9 points and 4.7 assists. His play was affected by his foot injury and other health issues.
Allen had surgery on his toe after the season. He tried to play in 1978-79 but was still hurt. He only played in 31 games that year. He was released from the team in 1979, which ended his NBA career.
Lucius Allen's NBA Career Summary
Lucius Allen played 702 regular season games over 10 years in the NBA. He played for four different teams. On average, he scored 13.4 points, had 4.5 assists, and grabbed 3.1 rebounds per game. He also averaged 1.5 steals per game in the later part of his career. His highest scoring average in a season was 19.5 points per game.
Life After Basketball
After his successful basketball career, Lucius Allen focused on coaching. He helped young players in the Los Angeles area improve their skills.
Legacy and Awards
Lucius Allen is remembered as a truly special basketball player. In 1999, The Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper called him the greatest Kansas high school basketball player of the 20th century.
He was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2004, he was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He also joined the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor in 2013.
Allen is part of a very small and elite group of players. These players have won a high school state championship, a college national championship, and an NBA championship. Other famous players in this group include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gail Goodrich, Bill Russell, and Magic Johnson.
Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
NBA
Source
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–70 | Seattle | 81 | 22.4 | .442 | .731 | 2.6 | 4.2 | — | — | 9.8 |
| 1970–71† | Milwaukee | 61 | 19.0 | .447 | .700 | 2.5 | 2.6 | — | — | 7.1 |
| 1971–72 | Milwaukee | 80 | 29.0 | .505 | .764 | 3.2 | 4.2 | — | — | 13.5 |
| 1972–73 | Milwaukee | 80 | 33.7 | .484 | .715 | 3.5 | 5.3 | — | — | 15.5 |
| 1973–74 | Milwaukee | 72 | 33.2 | .495 | .788 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| 1974–75 | Milwaukee | 10 | 34.2 | .415 | .838 | 3.1 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 16.7 |
| 1974–75 | L.A. Lakers | 56 | 35.9 | .440 | .770 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 19.5 |
| 1975–76 | L.A. Lakers | 76 | 31.4 | .459 | .776 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 14.7 |
| 1976–77 | L.A. Lakers | 78 | 31.8 | .456 | .774 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 14.6 |
| 1977–78 | Kansas City | 77 | 27.9 | .441 | .791 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 11.9 |
| 1978–79 | Kansas City | 31 | 13.3 | .397 | .576 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 5.1 |
| Career | 702 | 28.7 | .463 | .760 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 13.4 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971† | Milwaukee | 14 | 22.3 | .506 | .714 | 2.9 | 3.7 | — | — | 7.3 |
| 1972 | Milwaukee | 11 | 35.1 | .470 | .759 | 3.5 | 3.8 | — | — | 17.9 |
| 1973 | Milwaukee | 6 | 33.8 | .404 | .786 | 2.7 | 3.5 | — | — | 15.7 |
| 1977 | L.A. Lakers | 7 | 26.6 | .390 | .684 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 11.0 |
| 1979 | Kansas City | 5 | 14.6 | .469 | 1.000 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 7.2 |
| Playoffs | 43 | 27.0 | .449 | .756 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 11.8 | |
See also
In Spanish: Lucius Allen para niños
