Lawrence Ronald Costello (July 2, 1931 – December 13, 2001) was 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 ...

player and coach. He played for the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...

and the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

of the NBA, and the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different United States, American sports league, leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playin ...

of the EPBL. He served as head coach of the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

and the

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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. A six-time All-Star, Costello was 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 ...

's last two-handed set shooter. As the inaugural coach of the Bucks, he led them to a championship in their third season of existence in 1971, the fastest run for an expansion team in NBA history. In ten seasons as a coach, Costello reached the postseason six times, while winning 37 of his 60 postseason games as coach, for a winning percentage of 61.7%, ninth best in NBA history. In 2022, Costello was inducted into the

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

as a contributor.

Playing career

Costello attended at

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

after growing up in

Minoa, New York Minoa is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,657. Minoa is in the northern part of the town of Manlius and is east of Syracuse. History Minoa is in the former Central New York ...

(born to parents that were basketball players in high school) and attending East Syracuse-Minoa High School. He had excelled in basketball, baseball, and football but chose to attend Niagara for basketball. Costello played three seasons at Niagara, from 1951 to 1954, after spending his freshman year on the freshman team due to the NCAA rules of the time. He led the Purple Eagles to the

National Invitational Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

in 1953 and 1954 before graduating as the all-time leading scorer (1,275) in program history (he now ranks in the top thirty). He wore the jersey number of 24 until his senior season due to his efforts in a notable game in his junior year. Against Siena on February 21, 1953, Costello played all but twenty seconds of a six-overtime game that ran for 69 minutes, where he scored 21 points in an 88–81 win. To commemorate his efforts in the longest college basketball game at that time, his jersey number was switched to 69. His jersey number of 69 was retired by Niagara in 2001. Costello was drafted by the

in 1954, electing to choose it over study at the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

and their dental school due to having more of a passion for basketball. After his rookie season, he served in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

for a year before returning to play for the Warriors. After the season, Costello was traded to the

for $5,000. He averaged over ten points a game in each of his first eight seasons with the team. Costello retired in 1965 from the

(the former Syracuse Nationals), but eventually came back for the 1966–67 NBA season after new head coach

Alex Hannum Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player, Hannum played for six different teams, most notably with the Milwaukee (later St. Louis) Hawks, where he played ...

told him he needed a veteran point guard. Forty-two games into the season, Costello tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

on January 6, 1967, and was replaced by Wali Jones. He did, however, come back to participate in the 1967 playoffs, where he earned a championship ring. Costello ended his career for the second and final time in 1968. During his NBA career, Costello was selected to six

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

s (playing in five). He led the league 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 in the 1962–63 and 1964–65 seasons.

Coaching career

Costello began his coaching career at East Syracuse-Minoa High School, his alma mater, where he served for the 1968 season. Costello took over as head coach of the expansion team

in 1968 and coached them to a league-best 66–16 mark in 1970–71, including a then-NBA record 20-game win streak. The Bucks won the championship in the post-season with a 4–0 sweep of the Baltimore Bullets. The Bucks won a league best 59 games during the 1973–74 regular season and returned to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in seven games. After a 3–15 start in the 1976–77 season, Costello resigned on November 22, 1976. He was replaced by

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

, who would be head coach of the Bucks for 11 seasons. Costello coached the

for 56 games in 1978–79 before returning to Milwaukee to coach the Milwaukee Does of the

Women's Professional Basketball League The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional w ...

for part of the 1979–80 season. Costello's last coaching job was at Utica College in the 1980s. The school was making the transition from Division III to Division I as an independent. Costello coached one season in Division III. In his second year in Division I, the Pioneers were the seventh most improved team in the country based on their won-loss record. Costello retired in 1987, having won 65 games at Utica in six seasons. Costello was best known as one of the first coaches to employ videotape to analyze his team and opponents.

Later life

Costello appeared on

NBA Live ''NBA Live'' is a series of basketball video games that was published by EA Sports. The series, which debuted in 1994, is the successor to the previous ''NBA Playoffs'' and ''NBA Showdown (video game), NBA Showdown'' series. Beginning in the la ...

videogame series, as member of the 1950s NBA Live Legend All-Stars Team. Costello died on December 13, 2001, after battling cancer for more than a year. Costello was featured in the book ''Basketball History in Syracuse, Hoops Roots'' by author Mark Allen Baker published by The History Press in 2010. The book is an introduction to professional basketball in Syracuse and includes teams like ( Vic Hanson's) All-Americans, the Syracuse Reds and the

(1946–1963).

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

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References

External links

Player stats
@ basketball-reference.com

@ basketball-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Larry 1931 births 2001 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from Syracuse, New York Chicago Bulls head coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Eastern Basketball Association coaches High school basketball coaches in New York (state) Milwaukee Bucks expansion draft picks Milwaukee Bucks head coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars NBA championship–winning head coaches Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers players Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Philadelphia Warriors players Point guards Sportspeople from Onondaga County, New York Syracuse Nationals players Utica Pioneers men's basketball coaches Wilkes-Barre Barons players Women's Professional Basketball League coaches