Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the

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

(NBA). Hughes attended Saint Louis University before being selected with the eighth overall pick in the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the To ...

. Hughes is the founder of the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy.

Early years

One of the most heralded basketball players to come out of St. Louis, Hughes started his basketball career at

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

(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 1 season of college basketball at Saint 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.

NBA career

Hughes has played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors,

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, Cleveland Cavaliers,

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

, New York Knicks,

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

, and Orlando Magic. He was drafted by Philadelphia in the 1st round of the

out of Saint Louis University, where he was named Freshman of the Year.NBA.com : Larry Hughes Bio Page
.

. He is known for being a versatile and athletic guard with strong defensive abilities, and 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 in 2004–05. 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. He was brought into Cleveland to provide assistance to young superstar

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

, the Cavs' first overall draft pick in 2003. In the 2005–06 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 partner

Gilbert Arenas Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (; born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Arenas attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Arizona lat ...

, with whom he played for three seasons, two in Washington and one in Golden State. On May 2, 2006 Hughes was recipient of the inaugural

Austin Carr Austin George Carr (born March 10, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known by Cleveland ...

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 the

, in a three-team trade, along with Drew Gooden,

Cedric Simmons Cedric Simmons (born January 3, 1986) is an American-born Bulgarian professional basketball player for SeaHorses Mikawa in Japan. He was born in the United States, but also holds Bulgarian citizenship, and has played for the senior men's Bulgaria ...

and Shannon Brown in exchange for Ben Wallace and Joe Smith. On February 19, 2009 just before the trade deadline, Hughes was traded from the Bulls to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas,

Jerome James Jerome Keith James (born November 17, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Originally from Tampa, Florida, James played college basketball at Florida A&M for three seasons and was the national leader in blocks per game in ...

, and

Anthony Roberson Anthony Roberson (born February 14, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Roberson played college basketball for the University of Florida, and signed with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies as an undrafted f ...

. On February 18, 2010, Hughes was traded to the

in a three team deal that also moved

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

to the Knicks. He was waived by the Kings on February 23, 2010. On March 13, 2010, he signed with the

for the rest of the season. On December 9, 2011, Hughes signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Orlando Magic. He was waived on February 1, 2012, after averaging 1.3 points in nine games. Hughes was selected to play in Ice Cube's

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players and international play ...

League on the "Killer 3s" team in the summer of 2017.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Playoffs

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Personal life

Hughes played

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...

's boyfriend in the music video of Nelly's single "

Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dist ...

". 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 in

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", deriv ...

. In November 2020, Hughes announced plans to open two cannabis dispensaries in St. Louis with former Knicks teammate

Al Harrington Albert Harrington (born February 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Cape Town Tigers. Selected with the 25th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Harrington played 16 seasons in the ...

. Hughes is the godfather of Boston Celtics player

Jayson Tatum Jayson Christopher Tatum Sr. (; born March 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A McDonald's All-American in high school in Missouri, he played college baske ...

, whose father was Hughes' high school and college teammate.

References

External links

* *
Stats on Basketball-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Larry 1979 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from St. Louis Big3 players Businesspeople in the cannabis industry Charlotte Bobcats players Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers players Golden State Warriors players McDonald's High School All-Americans New York Knicks players Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball players Shooting guards Washington Wizards players American men's 3x3 basketball players