 Lucas with theMaryland Terrapins,c. 1974 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1953-10-31)October 31, 1953 (age 72) Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Hillside (Durham, North Carolina) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Maryland (1972–1976) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1976: 1st round,1st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1976–1992 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 15, 4, 5, 10, 20 | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1991–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||
As player:
As coach:
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Points | 9,951 (10.7 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
| Assists | 6,454 (7.0 apg) | ||||||||||||||
| Steals | 1,273 (1.4 spg) | ||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
John Harding Lucas II (born October 31, 1953) is an American professionalbasketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for theHouston Rockets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketball andtennis at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park and was anAll-American in both.
Lucas attended theUniversity of Maryland where he was an All-American in basketball. Lucas was a Second-team All-American for the Terrapins team in 1973–74, along with his teammatesLen Elmore andTom McMillen. The Terrapins had a record of 23–5 in the regular season, and 9–3 in theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC). However, they lost during the ACC Tournament, and they could not go to the NCAA Tournament. Elmore and McMillan graduated in 1974, but in the following 1974–75 season, Lucas was a First-team All-American. The Terrapins recorded a 24–5 regular season record, 10–2 in the ACC, and they won the ACC regular season crown. However, they lost to NC State in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. The NCAA tournament, however, had been expanded to include 32 teams. Also, for the first time, more than one team per conference was allowed into the tournament. Maryland gained entry and advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Louisville.
Lucas played for theUS national team in the1974 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[1]
In the 1975–76 season, Lucas was a First-team All-American once again. The Terrapins recorded a 22–6 regular season record, 7–5 in the ACC, but they lost out in the ACC Tournament and did not make the NCAA Tournament.
Lucas was the first overall pick of the1976 NBA draft, selected by theHouston Rockets. He was also drafted by theNew York Nets of theAmerican Basketball Association.[2]
Lucas played in theNBA for fourteen years. Lucas initially played for the Rockets for two years before NBA commissionerLarry O'Brien awarded him to the Golden State Warriors as compensation for the Rockets signingRick Barry as a free agent.[3] While a member of theGolden State Warriors, on October 20, 1978, Lucas scored a career-best 35 points during a 111–108 win over the Trail Blazers.[4] In his last season with the Warriors, Lucas's problems began when he missed a series of practice sessions, plane trips and games.[5][6] The Warriors suspended Lucas and chose not to pick up his contract option.[6]
After signing with theWashington Bullets as a free agent, Lucas continued to miss practices with the Bullets. He admitted that he was addicted to cocaine at the beginning of the 1982–1983 season and entered a rehabilitation program.[5] The Bullets waived him in 1983.[7]
Lucas played professional tennis and minor league basketball before returning to the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs and then moving on to Houston.[8] Lucas's drug problems continued to plague him, and the Rockets waived him in 1984 and reinstated him the next season after he underwent rehabilitation.[8][9] Lucas became a regular season starter for the1986Houston Rockets. However, after failing two drug tests, the Rockets waived Lucas in March before they embarked on a playoff run to the1986 NBA Finals.[9]
Lucas was given another chance in January 1987 when he was signed to a ten-day contract by the Milwaukee Bucks that led to a full contract for the rest of the season.[10] Lucas played four more years in the NBA, averaging at age 33 a career-high 17.5 points for Milwaukee in 1986–87, after which, on May 8, 1987, he scored a team high 30 points to lead the Bucks to an Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics.[11] The Bucks would go on to lose the series in seven games. Lucas played more of a reserve role for the next three years.
Lucas played three games with theWichita Falls Texans in theContinental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1991–92 season.[12] He was serving as head coach of the Miami Tropics in theUnited States Basketball League (USBL) at the time and appeared to help his player,Roy Tarpley, who was scared about making his debut after leaving a drug treatment facility.[13]
After successfully undergoing drug rehabilitation and starting programs of his own to help other athletes rehabilitate, Lucas returned to the NBA as a coach, eventually becoming a head coach.
Lucas runs a wellness and aftercare substance-abuse recovery program for athletes.[14] Lucas has helped multiple professional athletes with substance abuse, includingFreeman Williams, with whom he became close friends.[15]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
On August 8, 1991, Lucas bought the Miami Tropics franchise of theUnited States Basketball League to use the team as a tool in helping players overcome drug problems.[16] He only intended to serve as team owner but realised he would be best suited as head coach to help with counselling players.[13] Lucas won two championships in 1992 and 1993 before he decided to step aside.[17]
He has coached theSan Antonio Spurs,Philadelphia 76ers andCleveland Cavaliers, each for less than two seasons, compiling a 174–258 overall coaching record. His most successful stint was with the Spurs. In 1992–93, he took over fromJerry Tarkanian (9–11) and went 39–22 the rest of the season, and reached the Western Conference semi-finals. The next year the Spurs finished 55–27 but lost in the first round of playoffs.
Prior to accepting the head coaching position for the Cavs, he was assistant coach for theDenver Nuggets for three seasons.
Lucas worked with Indiana Pacers guardT. J. Ford in Houston after the guard sustained a neck injury from a hard foul fromAtlanta'sAl Horford.[18]
Lucas was hired for the 2009–10 NBA season as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers under head coachMike Dunleavy.
Lucas began working with former NFL first round pickJaMarcus Russell in 2010 as a life coach, but ceased this role in April 2011.[19]
In July 2016, Lucas joined the Houston Rockets as a player development coach.[20] On November 6, 2020, Lucas was announced as an assistant in the staff of new Rockets head coachStephen Silas.[21]
| 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 inConf. Semifinals |
| San Antonio | 1993–94 | 82 | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2nd in Midwest | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost inFirst 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 |
Lucas was not only a standout basketball player, but also a standouttennis player. An All-American in the sport while at Maryland, he won ACC number one singles championship twice in 1974 and 1976, before being named the McKelvin Award winner as the conference's top all-around athlete. Lucas competed in twoGrand Prix tennis tournaments in 1973, another in 1979, and achallenger event in 1979. His best result was reaching the semi-finals of the challenger inRaleigh, North Carolina, partneringFred McNair. He won one other tour match, by default in doubles in 1973 inMerion, Pennsylvania while partneringVic Seixas. He lost all four of the singles first round matches which he contested, and in straight sets.[22] His best singles result was a 4–6, 4–6 loss toJohn Austin. Lucas's career high ranking was 579th, in singles in December 1979.[23] (Doubles computer rankings were not officially kept until the early 1980s.)
Lucas also playedWorld Team Tennis with theSan Francisco Golden Gaters in 1976, and theNew Orleans Sun Belt Nets in 1978. He andRenée Richards had success teaming up as the Nets' regular mixed-doubles team in 1978. The 6'1" Richards was delighted to have a male partner who was taller than she was.[24]
In 2005, Lucas was the head coach of theHouston Wranglers, which featuredSteffi Graf andMardy Fish.
Lucas's elder sonJohn Lucas III played college basketball atOklahoma State and has been a member of several NBA teams. His younger son,Jai, is currently head coach at the University of Miami, was previously an assistant coach atDuke University, and also playedcollege basketball at theUniversity of Texas.
