Edward Sebastian Palubinskas (born 17 September 1950) is an Australian former professional

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 and coach.

Playing career

High school

Palubinskas attended

Narrabundah College Narrabundah College is a government college that teaches the last two years of secondary education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was the first school in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), starting the progr ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, where he practiced different sports (

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

). He started playing basketball at age 14. In Canberra, he played for a team of Lithuanian immigrants. After moving to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Palubinskas played for the St. Kilda Saints, winning the Victorian Championship in 1970.

College

Coach

Lindsay Gaze Lindsay John Casson Gaze (born 16 August 1936) is an Australian former basketball player and coach. He played for Australia in three Summer Olympics qualification tournaments, between 1960 and 1968, and was the head coach of the senior Aust ...

, who back then considered Palubinskas as "the best offensive player in the history of Australia", put him in contact with

Dale Brown Dale Brown (born November 2, 1956) is an American writer and aviator known for aviation techno-thriller novels. At least thirteen of his novels have been ''New York Times'' Best Sellers. Early life Brown was born in Buffalo, New York, and wa ...

, who later became his coach at LSU. Palubinskas moved to the US and started his collegiate career at

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Desmond Ricks, American football player * ...

Rexburg, Idaho Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg ...

in 1970, where he led the US in

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

percentage with 92.4 percents during the 1970–71 season. He holds the record for the most consecutive free throws in a game (14) and 43 consecutive for the season. He won NJCAA All-American status at Ricks College (which is now BYU-Idaho) and scored 24 points a game over his two years. In 1972, Palubinskas transferred to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(LSU), after playing in the

Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

where he was the second leading scorer missing the Olympic scoring title by one point. At LSU, Palubinskas had a team-high 18.6 points per game in the 1972–73 season and was selected to the All-SEC Coaches Team. In 1973–74, he was the second leading scorer of the team (18.3 points per game) behind

Glenn Hansen Glenn R. Hansen (born April 21, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. He was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota. Hansen, a and guard, played college basketball for Louisiana State University and Utah State University. As ...

. While at LSU, Palubinskas hit 87.5 percent (258-of-295) of his free throws. On 1 March 1973, Palubinskas converted 16 of his 16 free throws against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, which put him in first place in the LSU record book.

Professional

Palubinskas was selected in the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and ot ...

by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

in the fourth round. He was then traded to the New Orleans Jazz and drafted in the eighth round of the

ABA draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. Generally speaking, the ABA's drafts were considered a lot looser in terms of structure for teams to make their player choices when compared to the rivaling NBA. So much so, in f ...

by the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

. Palubinskas never played in the NBA. In Australia, he played for the Caulfield Spartans, scoring a record-breaking 66 points in a championship game in 1976.

National team career

After being the second leading scorer in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Palubinskas was the top overall scorer in 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He set three Olympic scoring records in Montreal, including the record for most points scored in a single Olympics (269), which was broken by Brazilian

Oscar Schmidt Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt (born February 16, 1958), nicknamed ''Mão Santa'' (Holy Hand), is a Brazilian retired professional basketball player. Schmidt primarily played the power forward and small forward position, was 2.06 m (6 ft 9 i ...

during the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. The most points he scored in one game during the Olympics was in 1976, when he had 48 against Mexico in overtime. He is a member of the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

Palubinskas served as an assistant coach at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

from 1986 to 1989. In 1991–92, he held the same position at Louisiana State University. At the high school level in the US, Palubinskas was the head coach at

Central Private School Central Private School (CPS) or Central Private (CP) is a private education institution located in Central, Louisiana. History The school was founded in the 1967 amidst the court ordered desegregation of public schools. CPS is one of several ...

Central, Louisiana Central is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, third largest city in East Baton Rouge Parish, and part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. Central had a 2020 census population of 29,565. History Long an unincorporated subur ...

from 1992 to 1996. He also was a basketball coach at East Carbon High School in

Sunnyside, Utah Sunnyside is a former city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The population was 377 at the 2010 census. On January 1, 2014, the city merged with the neighboring city of East Carbon. Geography Sunnyside is located southeast of the center ...

and East High School in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. Palubinskas took a position as shooting coach to

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

for the

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. No ...

. Following the Lakers' triumph in the NBA, Palubinskas also received an NBA champion's ring. He also worked with

Brandon Bass Brandon Samuel Bass (born April 30, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life Bass was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the oldest of three siblings; he has a brother, Chris, and sister, Dashia. Bass is the son of ...

Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Superman" for his athletic prowess, he is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defen ...

Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is formerly the head coach for Triplets (basketball), Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando ...

and

Lauren Jackson Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian former professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketb ...

. He has his own basketball school named The Palubinskas Basketball Academy. Palubinskas published two instructional video tapes ("Secrets to Perfect Shooting Principles" and "The Shooters' Lab") on shooting technique. In 2004, he published his findings on shooting the basketball in the FIBA Assist Magazine.

Career highlights

* "Mr. Basketball Australia" – 1970 * 1972 and 1976 All-World Olympic Team * Most points scored in Olympic history (269) – 1976 * Guinness book world record- most free throws (18) made in 2 minutes blindfolded in Phoenix AZ. at NBA ALL-Star weekend * ACT Sport Hall of Fame inductee in 2021

Personal life

Palubinskas was born to a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

father and a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

mother. Palubinskas is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

References

External links

Historical Vignette: Ed Palubinskas, Australia's first basketball great
– Australian Olympic Committee * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palubinskas, Ed 1950 births Living people 20th-century Australian sportsmen 1974 FIBA World Championship players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Australian emigrants to the United States Australian Latter Day Saints Australian men's basketball coaches Australian men's basketball players Australian people of Lithuanian descent Australian people of Russian descent Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches LSU Tigers men's basketball coaches LSU Tigers men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for Australia Sportspeople from Canberra Utah Stars draft picks