| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 (age 58–59) |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Cleveland Heights (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) |
| College | Florida A&M (1984–1989) |
| NBA draft | 1989:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1991–2004 |
| Position | Guard /forward |
| Coaching career | 2007–2013 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1991–1998 | Otago Nuggets |
| 1999–2000 | North Otago Penguins |
| 2004 | Otago Nuggets |
| As a coach: | |
| 2007–2010 | Mackay Meteors |
| 2011 | Brisbane Spartans |
| 2012–2013 | Northside Wizards |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
As coach:
| |
Leonard King (born 1966[1]) is an American formerbasketball player. He playedcollege basketball for theFlorida A&M Rattlers before playing the majority of his career in New Zealand with theOtago Nuggets. Listed as aforward in college,[2] he was named the recipient of theNew Zealand NBL Most Outstanding Guard Award in 1994.
King attendedCleveland Heights High School inCleveland Heights, Ohio, where he was named Class AAA All-Ohio as a senior in 1983–84.[3]
King playedcollege basketball for theFlorida A&M Rattlers between 1984 and 1989. He sat out the 1987–88 season. In 107 games, he averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.[2]
As a professional, King played in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg and New Zealand.[1]
King played for theOtago Nuggets in the New ZealandNational Basketball League (NZNBL) from 1991 to 1998 and again in 2004.[4] He was namedNZNBL Most Outstanding Guard in1994 and earnedNZNBL All-Star Five honors in 1994 and1995.[5][6] He played 181 games for the Nuggets[7] and averaged more than 25 points a game.[8] As of 2019, he is the franchise's all time leader in points, rebounds and steals, as well as second in assists and blocks.[7]
In 1999 and 2000, King played for the North Otago Penguins in theConference Basketball League (CBL). He helped them win back-to-back championships and earned the Most Valuable Player award in 2000.[9][10]
Following the conclusion of his playing career, King began working with Basketball New Zealand as a high performance coach. He was an assistant coach with theNew Zealand Tall Blacks in 2005 and 2006.[1]
In 2007, King moved toQueensland, Australia, to coach the Mackay Meteors in theQueensland Basketball League (QBL).[11][12] He was named the QBL Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2010.[13] He left the Meteors following the 2010 season.[14]
In 2011, King served as head coach of the Brisbane Spartans of theSouth East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).[15][16]
In 2012 and 2013, King served as head coach of the Northside Wizards in the QBL.[17][18]
King worked for Basketball Queensland during the 2010s and was the Emerging Boomers' assistant coach in 2016. In 2017, he returned to Basketball New Zealand as their general manager for high performance.[19]
King and his wife Tracey have two children, Tylah andMojave.[1] His son is also a professional basketball player.[20]
King's great-grandmother was full Native American while his grandfather was half Native American and half African American.[21]
King came from New Zealand eight months ago, where he was the high performance coach for the men's national team, to manage the Meteors.