Luther Dean "Ticky" Burden (February 28, 1953 – October 29, 2015) was an American

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and

ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.

High school

Born in

Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 26,669 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland–Winter Haven, Florida, Winter Haven Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida ...

, Burden attended

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and a United States Senate, United States Senator from New York (state), New York. He is usually known as ...

High School, where he was a member of the basketball team.

College

Burden attended the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. He played for the

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as Team USA and the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. It is the most successful men's team in international competition, ...

in the

1974 FIBA World Championship The 1974 FIBA World Championship was the 7th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Puerto Rico from July 3 to 14, 1974. The tournament was won by the Soviet Union men's ...

, winning the bronze medal and scoring 20.2 points per game, a Team USA record which was overtaken by

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Durant has won two List of NBA champions, NBA champ ...

in 2010. In 1975, his junior year, he averaged 28.7 points per game and set the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

record for field goals in a season with 359.

Professional basketball

Following his junior season, he was allowed to turn pro as a hardship case. Burden was drafted by the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

and the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. He chose Virginia, but left after one season, during which he had a serious argument with coach

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (September 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. Early life Musselman was the second of five children. His father, Clifford Musselman, was an ...

. Upon joining the Knicks, he stated "In Virginia I saw the bad side of pro basketball, in New York I know I'll see the good side". In the 1976–77 season, Burden got into 61 games for the Knicks in a backup role, averaging 10 minutes and 5.7 points per game. However, in the 77–78 season Knicks coach

Willis Reed Willis Reed Jr. (June 25, 1942 – March 21, 2023) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball ...

became frustrated with Burden's lack of defensive play, and sent him to the disabled list for the remainder of the season after he played in just two games. Reed unsuccessfully attempted to trade Burden, but ending up placing him on waivers and releasing him following the season.

Later life

On July 3, 1980, Burden and three other men allegedly robbed a bank in Hempstead,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Burden was convicted after the three other men struck deals and testified against him, and was given a sentence of six to eighteen years. After serving two years, Burden's conviction was overturned when a court ruled that detectives did not possess search or arrest warrants when they raided Burden's home. Burden would later plead guilty to receiving stolen money in conjunction with the robbery, but was released after being given credit for time served. From 2010 onward, Burden was working with the YWCA organization, mentoring and coaching basketball. In 2012, Burden began experiencing medical problems related to ATTR

amyloidosis Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weigh ...

. He died in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

on October 29, 2015, after developing a fever following cataract surgery.

Personal life

Burden's grandson,

Luther Burden III Luther Burden III (born December 12, 2003) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was selected by the Bears in the se ...

, is a wide receiver who played for the University of Missouri and was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burden, Luther 1953 births 2015 deaths 1974 FIBA World Championship players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people convicted of theft American sportspeople convicted of crimes Basketball players from Polk County, Florida Denver Rockets draft picks New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players People from Haines City, Florida Shooting guards United States men's national basketball team players Utah Utes men's basketball players Virginia Squires draft picks Virginia Squires players