Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professionalbasketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes played collegiately for theSaint Louis Billikens for one season before being selected with the eighth overall pick in the1998 NBA draft. Hughes is the founder of the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy.[1]
One of the most heralded basketball players to come out of St. Louis, Hughes started his basketball career atChristian Brothers College High School (CBC), which won the Missouri state championship in 1997. He also led the St. Louis Eagles to an AAU National Championship, the summer prior. He played in the 1997 McDonald's American Game scoring 21 points.
Hughes played one season of college basketball atSaint Louis University. He finished the 1997–98 season with per game averages of 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.16 steals. He led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament that year, making it to the second round after a win over University of Massachusetts.
Hughes has played for thePhiladelphia 76ers,Golden State Warriors,Washington Wizards,Cleveland Cavaliers,Chicago Bulls,New York Knicks,Sacramento Kings,Charlotte Bobcats, andOrlando Magic. He was drafted by Philadelphia in the 1st round of the1998 NBA draft out ofSaint Louis University, where he was named Freshman of the Year.[2] He was known for being a versatile and athletic guard with strong defensive abilities. During his 76ers tenure, he and fellow guardAllen Iverson were nicknamed "the Flight Brothers", for their above-the-rim play style.[3][4] He was selected to the 2004–05 NBA All-Defensive 1st Team as a member of the Wizards. He led the league in steals per game with 2.89 in2004–05.[2]
Hughes participated in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest in Oracle Arena (home of the Golden State Warriors) in Oakland, California.
Hughes signed a five-year $70 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent in the summer of 2005.[5] He was brought into Cleveland to provide assistance to young superstarLeBron James, the Cavs' first overall draft pick in 2003.[2] In the2005–06 season he helped LeBron and the Cavs to an 18–10 record before requiring surgery on his broken finger. His last performance before the injury came in a 97–84 home upset of the Detroit Pistons, in which he scored 16 points on 7–10 shooting to go with two steals, five rebounds and three assists.
Prior to injuries in 2005, he averaged 16.2 points, and 37.6 minutes per game. Both of those statistics were the second best on the team, to LeBron James. He has an ongoing rivalry with former backcourt partnerGilbert Arenas, with whom he played for three seasons, two in Washington and one in Golden State.
On May 2, 2006, Hughes was recipient of the inauguralAustin Carr Good Guy Award, designed to recognize the Cavaliers player who is cooperative and understanding of the media, the community and the public.
On February 21, 2008, Hughes was traded to theChicago Bulls, in a three-team trade, along withDrew Gooden,Cedric Simmons andShannon Brown in exchange forBen Wallace andJoe Smith.[6]
On February 19, 2009, just before the trade deadline, Hughes was traded from the Bulls to theNew York Knicks forTim Thomas,Jerome James, andAnthony Roberson.[7]
On February 18, 2010, Hughes was traded to theSacramento Kings in a three team deal that also movedTracy McGrady to the Knicks.[8] He was waived by the Kings on February 23, 2010.[9] On March 13, 2010, he signed with theCharlotte Bobcats for the rest of the season.[10]
On December 9, 2011, Hughes signed a non-guaranteed contract with theOrlando Magic. He was waived on February 1, 2012, after averaging 1.3 points in nine games.[11]
Hughes was selected to play in Ice Cube'sBIG3 League on the "Killer 3s" team in the summer of 2017.[12][13]
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | Philadelphia | 50* | 1 | 19.8 | .411 | .154 | .709 | 3.8 | 1.5 | .9 | .3 | 10.0 |
| 1999–2000 | Philadelphia | 50 | 5 | 20.4 | .416 | .216 | .746 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .2 | 10.0 |
| 1999–2000 | Golden State | 32 | 32 | 40.8 | .389 | .243 | .736 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 1.9 | .5 | 22.7 |
| 2000–01 | Golden State | 50 | 45 | 36.9 | .383 | .187 | .766 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 1.9 | .6 | 16.5 |
| 2001–02 | Golden State | 73 | 56 | 28.1 | .423 | .194 | .737 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 1.5 | .3 | 12.3 |
| 2002–03 | Washington | 67 | 56 | 31.9 | .467 | .367 | .731 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 1.3 | .4 | 12.8 |
| 2003–04 | Washington | 61 | 61 | 33.8 | .397 | .341 | .797 | 5.3 | 2.4 | 1.6 | .4 | 18.8 |
| 2004–05 | Washington | 61 | 61 | 38.7 | .430 | .282 | .777 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 2.9* | .3 | 22.0 |
| 2005–06 | Cleveland | 36 | 31 | 35.6 | .409 | .368 | .756 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 1.5 | .6 | 15.5 |
| 2006–07 | Cleveland | 70 | 68 | 37.1 | .400 | .333 | .676 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .4 | 14.9 |
| 2007–08 | Cleveland | 40 | 32 | 30.3 | .377 | .341 | .815 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 1.5 | .3 | 12.3 |
| 2007–08 | Chicago | 28 | 25 | 28.9 | .387 | .353 | .775 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.4 | .2 | 12.0 |
| 2008–09 | Chicago | 30 | 6 | 26.4 | .412 | .392 | .817 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.2 | .3 | 12.0 |
| 2008–09 | New York | 25 | 14 | 27.5 | .390 | .385 | .794 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .2 | 11.2 |
| 2009–10 | New York | 31 | 14 | 26.5 | .366 | .289 | .823 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.3 | .4 | 9.6 |
| 2009–10 | Charlotte | 14 | 2 | 21.1 | .327 | .357 | .853 | 2.3 | 2.0 | .9 | .3 | 8.1 |
| 2011–12 | Orlando | 9 | 0 | 12.7 | .227 | .143 | .500 | .6 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 1.3 |
| Career | 727 | 509 | 30.8 | .406 | .309 | .757 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.5 | .4 | 14.1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Philadelphia | 8 | 2 | 24.8 | .403 | .000 | .833 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 10.3 |
| 2005 | Washington | 10 | 10 | 40.1 | .376 | .212 | .831 | 7.1 | 3.7 | 2.0 | .7 | 20.7 |
| 2006 | Cleveland | 9 | 8 | 37.3 | .319 | .278 | .742 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.2 | .1 | 11.1 |
| 2007 | Cleveland | 18 | 18 | 35.5 | .347 | .352 | .746 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .4 | 11.3 |
| 2010 | Charlotte | 4 | 0 | 14.5 | .471 | .400 | .571 | 3.3 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 6.0 |
| Career | 49 | 38 | 33.3 | .361 | .287 | .782 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 1.6 | .5 | 12.6 | |
Hughes playedKelly Rowland's boyfriend in the music video forNelly's single "Dilemma".[14]
In 2014, Hughes started a basketball clinic that later became known as the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy. Since 2019 it has operated out of a facility inChesterfield as well asFenton, Missouri.[15]
In November 2020, Hughes announced plans to open twocannabis dispensaries in St. Louis with former Knicks teammateAl Harrington.[16][17]
Hughes is the godfather ofBoston Celtics playerJayson Tatum, whose father,Justin, was Hughes' high school and college teammate.[18]
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