John Harding Lucas II (born October 31, 1953) is an American 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 ...

coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets 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 ...

(NBA). He played basketball and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

and was an All-American in both.

Collegiate career

Lucas attended the University of Maryland where he was an All-American in basketball. Lucas was a Second-team All-American for the Terrapins team in 1973–74, along with his teammates Len Elmore and Tom McMillen. The Terrapins had a record of 23–5 in the regular season, and 9–3 in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC). However, they lost during the ACC Tournament, and they could not go to the NCAA Tournament. Elmore and McMillan graduated in 1974, but in the following 1974–75 season, Lucas was a First-team All-American. The Terrapins recorded a 24–5 regular season record, 10–2 in the ACC, and they won the ACC regular season crown. However, they lost to NC State in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. The NCAA tournament, however, had been expanded to include 32 teams. Also, for the first time, more than one team per conference was allowed into the tournament. Maryland gained entry and advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Louisville. Lucas played for the US national team in the 1974 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal. In the 1975–76 season, Lucas was a First-team All-American once again. The Terrapins recorded a 22–6 regular season record, 7–5 in the ACC, but they lost out in the ACC Tournament and did not make the NCAA Tournament.

Professional career

Lucas was the first overall pick of the 1976 NBA draft, selected by the Houston Rockets. He was also drafted by the

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

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 ...

. Lucas played in the NBA for fourteen years. Lucas initially played for the Rockets for two years before NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien awarded him to the Golden State Warriors as compensation for the Rockets signing Rick Barry as a free agent. While a member of the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, on October 20, 1978, Lucas scored a career-best 35 points during a 111–108 win over the Trail Blazers. In his last season with the Warriors, Lucas's problems began when he missed a series of practice sessions, plane trips and games. The Warriors suspended Lucas and chose not to pick up his contract option. After signing with the Washington Bullets as a free agent, Lucas continued to miss practices with the Bullets. He admitted that he was addicted to cocaine at the beginning of the 1982–1983 season and entered a rehabilitation program. The Bullets waived him in 1983. Lucas played professional tennis and minor league basketball before returning to the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs and then moving on to Houston. Lucas's drug problems continued to plague him, and the Rockets waived him in 1984 and reinstated him the next season after he underwent rehabilitation. Lucas became a regular season starter for the 1986 Houston Rockets. However, after failing two drug tests, the Rockets waived Lucas in March before they embarked on a playoff run to the 1986 NBA Finals. Lucas was given another chance in January 1987 when he was signed to a ten-day contract by the Milwaukee Bucks that led to a full contract for the rest of the season. Lucas played four more years in the NBA, averaging at age 33 a career-high 17.5 points for Milwaukee in 1986–87, after which, on May 8, 1987, he scored a team high 30 points to lead the Bucks to an Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics. The Bucks would go on to lose the series in seven games. Lucas played more of a reserve role for the next three years. Lucas played three games with the Wichita Falls Texans in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) during the 1991–92 season. He was serving as head coach of the Miami Tropics in the United States Basketball League (USBL) at the time and appeared to help his player, Roy Tarpley, who was scared about making his debut after leaving a drug treatment facility. After successfully undergoing drug rehabilitation and starting programs of his own to help other athletes rehabilitate, Lucas returned to the NBA as a coach, eventually becoming a head coach. Lucas runs a wellness and aftercare substance-abuse recovery program for athletes. Lucas has helped multiple professional athletes with substance abuse, including Freeman Williams, with whom he became close friends.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 82 , , - , , 30.9 , , .477 , , - , , .789 , , 2.7 , , 5.6 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 11.1 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , - , , 35.8 , , .435 , , - , , .772 , , 3.1 , , 9.4 , , 2.0 , , 0.1 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" , Golden State , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , - , , 37.7 , , .462 , , - , , .822 , , 3.0 , , 9.3 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 16.1 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" , Golden State , 80 , , - , , 34.5 , , .467 , , .286 , , .768 , , 2.8 , , 7.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.0 , , 12.6 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" , Golden State , 66 , , - , , 29.1 , , .439 , , .167 , , .738 , , 2.3 , , 7.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" , Washington , 79 , , 53 , , 24.6 , , .426 , , .091 , , .784 , , 2.1 , , 7.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , Washington , 35 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .473 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.8 , , 2.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 63 , , 39 , , 28.7 , , .462 , , .275 , , .764 , , 2.9 , , 10.7 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 10.9 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 47 , , 21 , , 24.6 , , .462 , , .318 , , .798 , , 1.8 , , 6.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 11.4 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 65 , , 65 , , 32.6 , , .446 , , .308 , , .775 , , 2.2 , , 8.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 15.5 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 43 , , 40 , , 31.6 , , .457 , , .365 , , .787 , , 2.9 , , 6.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.1 , , 17.5 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 22 , , 21.8 , , .445 , , .338 , , .802 , , 2.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 9.2 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 74 , , 8 , , 11.4 , , .398 , , .265 , , .701 , , 1.1 , , 3.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 4.2 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 49 , , 18 , , 19.1 , , .375 , , .299 , , .764 , , 1.8 , , 4.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 5.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 928 , , 266 , , 27.5 , , .449 , , .303 , , .776 , , 2.3 , , 7.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 10.7

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , - , , 35.8 , , .540 , , - , , .765 , , 2.8 , , 6.9 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 14.7 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" , Washington , 7 , , - , , 10.6 , , .538 , , .333 , , .667 , , 1.1 , , 2.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 4 , , 30.4 , , .325 , , .143 , , .636 , , 4.2 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 13.6 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 12 , , 30.2 , , .453 , , .333 , , .813 , , 2.1 , , 5.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 15.6 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .370 , , .231 , , .667 , , 1.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 9.3 , , .294 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 45 , , 16 , , 25.2 , , .451 , , .261 , , .746 , , 2.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 11.2

College

, - , align="left" , 1972–73 , align="left" ,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, 30 , , - , , - , , .538 , , - , , .703 , , 2.8 , , - , , - , , - , , 14.2 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , - , , - , , .511 , , - , , .753 , , 2.8 , , - , , - , , - , , 20.1 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

, 24 , , - , , - , , .549 , , - , , .836 , , 4.2 , , - , , - , , - , , 19.5 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , - , , - , , .511 , , - , , .778 , , 3.9 , , - , , - , , - , , 19.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 110 , , - , , - , , .525 , , - , , .778 , , 3.4 , , - , , - , , - , , 18.3

Coaching career

On August 8, 1991, Lucas bought the Miami Tropics franchise of the United States Basketball League to use the team as a tool in helping players overcome drug problems. He only intended to serve as team owner but realised he would be best suited as head coach to help with counselling players. Lucas won two championships in 1992 and 1993 before he decided to step aside. He has coached the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

, each for less than two seasons, compiling a 174–258 overall coaching record. His most successful stint was with the Spurs. In 1992–93, he took over from Jerry Tarkanian (9–11) and went 39–22 the rest of the season, and reached the Western Conference semi-finals. The next year the Spurs finished 55–27 but lost in the first round of playoffs. Prior to accepting the head coaching position for the Cavs, he was assistant coach for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

for three seasons. Lucas worked with Indiana Pacers guard T. J. Ford in Houston after the guard sustained a neck injury from a hard foul from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

's Al Horford. Lucas was hired for the 2009–10 NBA season as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers under head coach Mike Dunleavy. Lucas began working with former NFL first round pick JaMarcus Russell in 2010 as a life coach, but ceased this role in April 2011. In July 2016, Lucas joined the Houston Rockets as a player development coach. On November 6, 2020, Lucas was announced as an assistant in the staff of new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas.

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 61, , 39, , 22, , , , align="center", 2nd in Midwest, , , 10, , 5, , 5, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 55, , 27, , , , align="center", 2nd in Midwest, , , 4, , 1, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in First Round , - , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 24, , 58, , , , align="center", 6th in Atlantic, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 18, , 64, , , , align="center", 7th in Atlantic, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 29, , 53, , , , align="center", 7th in Central, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 42, , 8, , 34, , , , align="center", (fired), , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , , , 431, , 173, , 258, , , , , , 14, , 6, , 8, , , ,

Tennis career

Lucas was not only a standout basketball player, but also a standout

player. An All-American in the sport while at Maryland, he won ACC number one singles championship twice in 1974 and 1976, before being named the McKelvin Award winner as the conference's top all-around athlete. Lucas competed in two

Grand Prix tennis The ITF Grand Prix Circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players founded in 1970 as the ILTF Grand Prix Tennis Circuit it was administered by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and ran annually until 1989 when it and the rival ...

tournaments in 1973, another in 1979, and a challenger event in 1979. His best result was reaching the semi-finals of the challenger in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, partnering Fred McNair. He won one other tour match, by default in doubles in 1973 in Merion, Pennsylvania while partnering Vic Seixas. He lost all four of the singles first round matches which he contested, and in straight sets. His best singles result was a 4–6, 4–6 loss to John Austin. Lucas's career high ranking was 579th, in singles in December 1979. (Doubles computer rankings were not officially kept until the early 1980s.) Lucas also played World Team Tennis with the San Francisco Golden Gaters in 1976, and the New Orleans Sun Belt Nets in 1978. He and Renée Richards had success teaming up as the Nets' regular mixed-doubles team in 1978. The 6'1" Richards was delighted to have a male partner who was taller than she was. In 2005, Lucas was the head coach of the Houston Wranglers, which featured

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a r ...

and Mardy Fish.

Personal life

Lucas's elder son John Lucas III played college basketball at Oklahoma State and has been a member of several NBA teams. His younger son, Jai, is currently head coach at the University of Miami, was previously an assistant coach at Duke University, and also played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at the University of Texas.

References

External links

BasketballReference.com: John Lucas (as coach)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, John Ii 1953 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 1974 FIBA World Championship players African-American basketball coaches African-American tennis coaches African-American tennis players All-American college men's basketball players American male tennis players American men's basketball players American tennis coaches Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from Durham, North Carolina Carolina Cougars draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches Denver Nuggets assistant coaches First overall NBA draft picks Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players Lancaster Lightning players Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players Maryland Terrapins men's tennis players Milwaukee Bucks players New York Nets draft picks Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers head coaches Point guards San Antonio Spurs head coaches San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players Tennis players from North Carolina United States Basketball League coaches United States Basketball League players United States men's national basketball team players Washington Bullets players Wichita Falls Texans players