John Lucas III

John Harding Lucas III (born November 21, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who was last a player development coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Baylor and Oklahoma State.

John Lucas III
Lucas with the Raptors in March 2013
Personal information
Born (1982-11-21) November 21, 1982
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight166 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolBellaire (Bellaire, Texas)
College
NBA draft2005 / Undrafted
Playing career2005–2017
PositionPoint guard
Number15, 5, 9, 11
Coaching career2017–present
Career history
As player:
2005Tulsa 66ers
2005–2006Houston Rockets
2006Tulsa 66ers
2006Snaidero Udine
2006–2007Houston Rockets
2008Benetton Treviso
2009Colorado 14ers
2009TAU Cerámica
2009–2010Shanghai Sharks
2010–2011Chicago Bulls
2011Shanghai Sharks
2011–2012Chicago Bulls
2012–2013Toronto Raptors
2013–2014Utah Jazz
2014–2015Fujian Sturgeons
2015Detroit Pistons
2016Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2016Piratas de Quebradillas
2016–2017Minnesota Timberwolves
As coach:
2017–2019Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
  • CBA All-Star (2010)
  • NBA D-League champion (2009)
  • NBA D-League Second Team (2006)
  • Third-team All-American – AP (2004)
  • 2× First-team All-Big 12 (2004, 2005)
  • Big 12 All-Freshman Team (2002)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C. to former NBA player and coach John Lucas II and his wife DeEdgra, Lucas lived in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania for a time as a youth. Lucas was the starting point guard on the Bellaire High School basketball team and played alongside fellow future NBA players Emeka Okafor and Lawrence Roberts. Lucas has a younger brother, Jai.[1]

He originally played collegiately at Baylor University, but transferred from there to Oklahoma State University in the wake of the 2003 Baylor basketball scandal. Lucas is noted for his winning shot against the Saint Joseph's University team that sent the 2004 Oklahoma State Cowboys to the NCAA Final Four.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft, Lucas joined the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2005 NBA Summer League. The Timberwolves also signed him to their training camp roster. During the 2005–06 NBA season, Lucas was called up by the Houston Rockets from the Tulsa 66ers in December 2005. He played 13 games for the Rockets between December and February. Lucas's call-up made him the first Tulsa 66ers player to be called up from the NBA Development League. He averaged 16.6 points in 33.2 mins per game with the 66ers.

On May 10, 2006, Lucas signed with Snaidero Udine of the Italian League, to fill the gap left by Jerome Allen, who was out for the season due to injury.

On July 28, 2006, Lucas signed with the Rockets to a three-year contract.[2] In the 2006–07 season, Lucas and the Rockets made it to the playoffs, where they lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round, in 7 games. On October 30, 2007, Lucas was one of four players cut from the Rockets' roster, prior to the commencement of the 2007–08 season.

He subsequently returned to Italian basketball, joining Benetton Treviso in January 2008. He was then later released by Treviso in March. Lucas was signed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in September 2008 but was released by them in November before playing in any NBA games for them.[3] In February 2009, he signed with the Colorado 14ers and helped them go on to win the 2008–09 D-League championship. On April 27, 2009, Lucas signed with TAU Cerámica of the Spanish ACB League for the remainder of the season.[4][5]

On September 2, 2009, Lucas was drafted by the Maine Red Claws in the NBA Development League expansion draft.[6]

Lucas played in the 2009 NBA preseason for the Miami Heat. He played four games and averaged 7.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game. On October 23, 2009, Lucas was waived by the Heat.

Lucas then spent the 2009–10 season with the Shanghai Sharks of the CBA.[7]

Lucas spent the 2010 NBA preseason with the Chicago Bulls but was waived on October 21. The Bulls re-signed him on November 26.[8] In his debut for the Bulls, Lucas missed two critical free throws in the final seconds of a 98–97 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He was waived on January 4, 2011, and signed with the Shanghai Sharks in China.[9] After his 2-month China stint, he returned to America and re-signed with the Bulls on March 20, 2011. On January 11, 2012, Lucas received his first-ever NBA start and achieved a career-high of 25 points, leading the Bulls in a 78–64 win over the Washington Wizards. He also played 45 minutes, made 11 of 28 field goal attempts, and had 8 assists and 8 rebounds (all career-highs).

On March 14, 2012, the Bulls hosted the Miami Heat. The Bulls were missing Derrick Rose, who was out due to a groin injury. Lucas scored 24 points and led the Chicago Bulls to a 106–102 victory over the Miami Heat.[10]

On March 21, 2012, Lucas led the Bulls to a comeback victory over the Toronto Raptors, scoring all of his 13 points in the 4th quarter.[11]

On July 27, 2012, Lucas signed with the Toronto Raptors.[12]

On July 22, 2013, Lucas signed with the Utah Jazz.[13]

On July 22, 2014, Lucas was traded, along with Erik Murphy and Malcolm Thomas, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Carrick Felix, a 2015 second round draft pick and cash considerations.[14] On September 25, 2014, he was traded, along with Erik Murphy, Dwight Powell, Malcolm Thomas and the Cavaliers' 2016 and 2017 second-round picks, to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Keith Bogans and two future second-round picks.[15] Four days later, he was waived by the Celtics.[16]

On October 21, 2014, Lucas signed with the Washington Wizards.[17] Four days later, he was waived by the Wizards.[18] On November 21, 2014, he signed with the Fujian Sturgeons for the rest of the 2014–15 CBA season.[19] His final game for Fujian came on January 30, 2015 and left China having averaged 26.3 points, 7.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds over 28 games.[20] On February 2, he signed a 10-day contract with the Detroit Pistons.[21] On February 12, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Pistons.[22] On February 25, he signed with the Pistons for the rest of the season.[23]

On September 28, 2015, Lucas signed with the Miami Heat.[24] However, he was later waived by the Heat on October 24 after appearing in one preseason game.[25][26] On January 14, 2016, Lucas was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.[27] One day later, he made his debut in a 109–104 loss to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, recording 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action.[28] On March 6, he was waived by the Mad Ants after averaging 17.7 points per game in 18 games.[29] On March 17, he signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of the Puerto Rican League.[30]

On September 26, 2016, Lucas signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.[31] On January 7, 2017, he was waived by the Timberwolves after appearing in five games.[32]

NBA 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

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005–06 Houston 1308.2.389.222.000.4.9.4.02.3
2006–07 Houston 4708.1.397.254.789.8.7.4.03.3
2010–11 Chicago 205.0.333.000.000.0.5.0.01.0
2011–12 Chicago 49214.8.399.393.8751.62.2.4.07.5
2012–13 Toronto 63013.1.386.377.7201.01.7.4.05.3
2013–14 Utah 42614.1.326.298.625.91.0.3.03.8
2014–15 Detroit 21013.0.404.3101.000.82.9.4.04.7
2016–17 Minnesota 502.2.250.000.000.00.2.4.00.4
Career 242812.1.383.344.7681.01.5.4.04.7

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007 Houston 204.0.000.000.000.0.0.5.00.0
2012 Chicago 5018.8.450.3851.0001.41.8.0.08.3
Career 7014.6.439.3971.0001.01.3.1.06.1

Coaching career

On September 21, 2017, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced additions to their coaching staff for the 2017–18 season while Lucas was named as Player Development Coach.[33]

References
  1. Beard, Franz (May 14, 2007). "RELOADING! JAI LUCAS WILL BE A GATOR". GatorCountry.com. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
  2. Blinebury, Fran (July 29, 2006). "Rockets seal Lucas deal". Chron.com. Retrieved July 29, 2006.
  3. "Oklahoma City Thunder waives John Lucas". NewsOK.com. November 3, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
  4. "TAU Ceramica signs John Lucas". TakBasket.com. April 27, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  5. "EL TAU Cerámica ficha a John Lucas". Baskonia.com (in Spanish). April 27, 2009. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  6. "James White First Draft Pick in Red Claws' History". OurSportsCentral.com. September 2, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  7. "Sharks get another victory as Yao cheers them on". YaoMingMania.com. December 27, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  8. "BULLS SIGN GUARD JOHN LUCAS III". NBA.com. November 26, 2010. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. "Pickett, Lucas III and Crawford land in China". Sportando.com. January 4, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  10. "Lucas III sparks Rose-less Bulls to win over Heat". USA Today. The Associated Press. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  11. "Roundup: Lucas rallies Bulls past Raptors". USA Today. The Associated Press. March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  12. "Raptors Sign Free-Agent Guard John Lucas III". NBA.com. July 27, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  13. "Jazz Signs Free-Agent Guard John Lucas III". NBA.com. July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  14. "Cavaliers Acquire John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy from Utah". NBA.com. July 22, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  15. "Boston Celtics Announce Roster Moves". NBA.com. September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  16. "Celtics Sign Evan Turner". NBA.com. September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  17. "WIZARDS SIGN JOHN LUCAS". NBA.com. October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  18. "Wizards waive James, Lucas, Silas". BasketballInsiders.com. October 25, 2014. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  19. "Fujian Quanzhou Bank signing John Lucas". Sportando.com. November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  20. "John Harding LUCAS III - Season 2014/2015". FIBA.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  21. "Detroit Pistons Sign John Lucas III To A 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  22. "Detroit Pistons Sign John Lucas III to Second 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  23. "Detroit Pistons Sign John Lucas III For Remainder Of The Season". NBA.com. February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  24. "HEAT Signs John Lucas III and Tre Kelley". NBA.com. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  25. "HEAT Waive Five Players". NBA.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  26. Winderman, Ira (October 24, 2015). "Heat cut five, roster down to 15-player regular-season limit". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  27. Stevenson, Kara (January 14, 2016). "Mad Ants Acquire John Lucas III". NBA.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  28. "Skyforce Edge Mad Ants". NBA.com. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  29. "Mad Ants Waive John Lucas III". OurSportsCentral.com. March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  30. "Quebradillas suma dos nuevos piratas". ElNuevoDia.com (in Spanish). March 17, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  31. "TIMBERWOLVES ANNOUNCE 2016-17 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. September 26, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  32. "TIMBERWOLVES WAIVE JOHN LUCAS III". NBA.com. January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  33. "TIMBERWOLVES ANNOUNCE COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS". NBA.com. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
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