Eric Charles Leckner (born May 27, 1966) is a retired American 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 who was selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

in the first round (17th overall) of the

1988 NBA Draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their ...

. He attended

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first began operating in 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic ...

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific coast south of El Segundo, west of Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north of Hermosa Beach. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35 ...

, and played collegiately at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyomin ...

. A

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, Leckner played in 8 NBA seasons for the

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 Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

and

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

. His best year as a pro was during the 1993-94 season when he appeared in 71 games and averaged 5.1 ppg for the 76ers.

College career

At Wyoming, Leckner had a successful career, finishing as the career leader in blocked shots and third leading scorer in Cowboys history. He accumulated 1,938 points, 774 rebounds and 164 blocked shots. He also holds the current University of Wyoming records for games played at 131 and

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the genera ...

at 61.2%. As a sophomore, he was a member of the Wyoming team that qualified for the finals at the

1986 National Invitation Tournament The 1986 National Invitation Tournament was the 1986 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

. The following year, the Cowboys qualified for the Sweet Sixteen of the

1987 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the champion ...

. Leckner was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame on September 25, 1998.

Awards and honors

Leckner won numerous awards during his career. The following are some of his achievements: * First Team All-Western Athletic Conference (1987, 1988) * Western Athletic Conference Tournament MVP (1986, 1987, 1988) * Inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame (Individual, 1998) and (Team, 2011) * Inducted into Mira Costa High School Athletic Hall of Fame (2020)

Personal life

Eric Leckner married Jessica Kelly Lucason (born Boston, MA) in 2004. They have four children and reside in Charlotte, NC, moving there in 2015 after eleven years in Manhattan Beach, CA.

References

External links

NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com 1966 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from Inglewood, California Centers (basketball) Charlotte Hornets players Detroit Pistons players Libertad de Sunchales basketball players Peristeri B.C. players Philadelphia 76ers players Sacramento Kings players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for the United States Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Vancouver Grizzlies players Wyoming Cowboys basketball players {{1960s-US-basketball-bio-stub