| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-12-19)December 19, 1951 Kansas City, Kansas, U. S. |
| Died | June 13, 2006(2006-06-13) (aged 54) Browns Mills, New Jersey, U. S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Sumner (Kansas City, Kansas) |
| College | Long Beach State (1971–1974) |
| NBA draft | 1974: 2nd round, 26th overall pick |
| Selected by theSeattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 1974–1977 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 11, 12 |
| Career history | |
| 1974–1976 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1976–1977 | Washington Bullets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,408 (10.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,169 (5.2 rpg) |
| Assists | 490 (2.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Leonard Earl Gray (December 19, 1951 – June 13, 2006) was an American professionalbasketball player.
Gray was born at theUniversity of Kansas Medical Center inKansas City, Kansas and raised inKansas City, Kansas. Because of his stature, Gray was affectionately referred to in his hometown as "Hugie".[1]
Gray attendedSumner High School where he played basketball all four years and football through his junior year. During Gray’s junior football season, he broke his leg and chose not to return for his senior football season.
During his senior year at Sumner, Gray led the Spartans to an undefeated season and the 1969Kansas Class 4 state basketball championship. In the state title game againstMcPherson High School, Gray totaled 24 points and 22 rebounds. Gray’s high school coach Roy Flook told theKansas City Star that college coaches told him that “Leonard is the top prospect in the country”.[2]
In a ceremony atSumner High School on May 6, 1969, Gray signed a letter of intent with theUniversity of Kansas. Gray chose Kansas over offers from over 100 college programs includingUCLA,Harvard,Yale, andBig 8 Conference andBig Ten Conference universities.[3]
Gray enrolled at theUniversity of Kansas for the 1969–1970 school year.
Due to NCAA freshman eligibility rules in effect at that time,[4] Gray was limited to competing for the Jayhawks 1969–1970 freshman basketball team. Gray averaged 17.5 points per game for the 1969–1970 Jayhawk freshmen squad.[5]
On October 15, 1970, weeks before what would have been Gray’s sophomore season at Kansas, Kansas coachTed Owens announced Gray had left the Jayhawk basketball program and would transfer to another school. Ironically, that season Kansas advanced to the1971 Final 4, but the subsequent two seasons ended in sub-.500 records.[6]
Gray transferred from Kansas to theLong Beach State basketball program coached byJerry Tarkanian.[7]
Gray didn't become eligible for competition forLong Beach State until February 1, 1972, which was midway through the1971–1972 season. In his opening game for the 49ers, Gray scored 16 points in a victory overCal-Irvine.[8]In March 1972, the 49ers season ended in a loss toBill Walton’sUCLA Bruins in the1972 NCAA West Regional Final by the score of 73–57.
In the1972–1973 season, Gray set a single-seasonLong Beach State record with a 56.5% shooting percentage[9] and added 7.1 rebounds per game for the season. The 49ers finished the season with a 26–3 record and a loss to theUSF Dons in the1973 NCAA West Regional semifinals.
After the1972–1973 season, Gray was drafted with the 45th overall pick in the 3rd round of the1973 NBA draft by theAtlanta Hawks but declined the professional opportunity and returned to Long Beach State.Gray also was drafted by theUtah Stars in the 1973 ABA Draft.[10]
During the1973–1974 season,Long Beach State, now coached by futureHall of FamerLute Olson who replaced the departedJerry Tarkanian, was one of the nation’s top teams. The 49er roster consisted of five futureNBA draft choices (Cliff Pondexter,Roscoe Pondexter,Glenn McDonald,Bob Gross and Gray) and finished with a 24–2 record and an Associated Press Final Ranking of 10th. However, the 49ers were placed on NCAA probation for recruiting violations in January 1974 and were declared ineligible for the1974 NCAA basketball tournament.[11]
In 1974, Gray earned first team All-PCAA andPCAA Player of the Year.[12]
Gray finished his career atLong Beach State averaging 10.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.[13]
Following his senior year at Long Beach State, Gray was drafted by theSeattle SuperSonics with the 26th overall pick in the 2nd round of the1974 NBA draft.
Gray signed a multi-year contract with theSeattle SuperSonics on June 26, 1974. He played his first two full seasons (1974–1975 and1975–1976) and part of a third (1976–1977) with the SuperSonics for head coachBill Russell.
In March 1976, Gray, who by then was a SuperSonics co-captain in just his secondNBA season, suffered a season-ending knee injury that resulted in surgery.[14]
On December 13, 1976, Seattle traded Gray to theWashington Bullets forNick Weatherspoon.[15]
After completing the1976–1977 season with the Bullets, the team didn't offer him a contract for the 1977–1978 season.[16]
Gray played in anNBA playoff series with both the Supersonics (lost in Western Conference semifinals) in 1975 and Bullets (lost in Eastern Conference semifinals) in 1977.
Gray finished hisNBA career playing in 224 games over three seasons averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[17]
In June 1969, Gray was named as one of the Top 100 High School basketball players in the United States for the 1968–1969 season by “Coach and Athlete” magazine.[18]
Despite never playing football in college, Gray was drafted by theSan Francisco 49ers as a Tight End in the 15th round of the 1974 NFL draft.[19]
Gray was inducted into the Long Beach State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.[20]
Leonard was the son of Paralee and Leonard Gray Sr. He had two sons.
Gray is also the uncle of twin sister former professional basketball playersCourtney Paris andAshley Paris. The Paris twins ledOklahoma Sooners women's basketball to the2009 NCAA Women’s Final 4. Gray’s sister Lynne is the mother of the Paris sisters.[21]
A resident ofLas Vegas, Gray died inBrowns Mills, New Jersey on June 13, 2006.[22]
| 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 |
Source[23]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | Seattle | 75 | 30.4 | .489 | .722 | 6.4 | 2.2 | .8 | .3 | 11.5 |
| 1975–76 | Seattle | 66 | 32.4 | .474 | .746 | 6.0 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .5 | 13.8 |
| 1976–77 | Seattle | 25 | 25.7 | .435 | .756 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .5 | 11.5 |
| 1976–77 | Washington | 58 | 17.2 | .436 | .738 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .5 | .3 | 6.0 |
| Career | 224 | 27.0 | .469 | .739 | 5.2 | 2.2 | .9 | .4 | 10.8 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Seattle | 9 | 29.2 | .488 | .846 | 5.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | .6 | 9.9 |
| 1977 | Washington | 8 | 6.5 | .286 | – | 1.1 | .1 | .3 | .0 | 1.5 |
| Career | 17 | 18.5 | .446 | .846 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .8 | .3 | 5.9 | |