Lester Allen Conner (born September 17, 1959) 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 professional basketball player, who played for numerous

NBA 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 ...

teams. On the floor at the collegiate level the 6'4" Conner was a "swingman," playing both the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions, earning high collegiate honors as the 1982

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Player of the Year. Conner was the 14th selection in the first round of the 1982 NBA draft, selected by his hometown

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 ...

, for whom he played the first four years of his 12-season NBA career. In the NBA Conner was a "combo guard," playing both the shooting guard and

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

positions. His NBA career was interrupted by one year played with the league champion

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basket ...

of 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 ...

. Following his retirement at the end of the 1994–95 season, Conner turned his attention to coaching, beginning as an assistant to

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), ...

head coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

in 1998 and continuing for more than 15 years.

Biography

Conner was born September 17, 1959, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He grew up in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, where he attended the ethnically diverse Fremont High School.K.J. White, ''Miller's Time: A Legacy of OSU Basketball, 1971–1989.'' Portland, OR: Highland Times Press, 1997; pg. 65. Although he played high school basketball for the Fremont Tigers, he was far from a star at the time, starting sporadically. No elite collegiate basketball programs beat down his door, and Conner found himself relegated to pursuing an alternate path forward in his chosen sport.

Collegiate career

Junior College

In 1978, Conner enrolled at Los Medanos Junior College in

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg (formerly Black Diamond, New York Landing and New York of the Pacific) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of t ...

, where his game expanded dramatically. Conner achieved star status, averaging 25.2 points per game in leading his team to a 24–7 record. He moved on to Chabot Junior College in

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

, for the 1979–80 season, achieving similar results in becoming the co-recipient of the California Junior College Player of the Year honors. From being a largely unheralded high school player, Conner found himself a blue chip prospect as a transfer player, pursued by some of the leading collegiate programs in America.

1980–81

One chief suitor included

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Reb ...

, head coach of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, whose program Conner found attractive. Another was

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, a program headed by gruff veteran head coach

Ralph Miller Ralph H. Miller (March 9, 1919 – May 15, 2001) was an American college basketball coach, a head coach for 38 years at three universities: Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State. With an overall record of , his teams had ...

, a future member of the

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 ...

. Conner requested that Miller travel to see him play in person, a bold request that one writer has likened to "asking the Pope to say grace at Thanksgiving dinner." Nevertheless, Miller acceded to Conner's wishes and ultimately won Conner's commitment to take a scholarship with the program nearly a month after the end of the April signing period. Conner quickly won a starting role with the team, opening up the 1980–81 season playing

next to future NBA players Steve Johnson, Mark Radford, Ray Blume, and Charlie Sitton.White, ''Miller's Time,'' pg. 63. The team was regarded from opening day as one of the powers of college basketball, bringing back the nucleus of a team that had finished the previous year with a record of 26–4 as the 5th ranked team in America. Conner would produce for much of the year off the bench as an invaluable

sixth man The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starting lineup, starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in, and the first to be used against the other team's subst ...

, gaining notice as a highly skilled passer, gritty rebounder, and lock-down defensive specialist. Seven wins out the gate brought the Beavers a #2 national ranking, which soon became #1 when Oregon State kept winning while the previously top-ranked DePaul Blue Demons fell to Old Dominion, 63–62, on January 10, 1981. The DePaul result was announced in the midst of an OSU annihilation of the Cal Golden Bears, with the home team up 56–28, bringing the crowd of 10,087 to a deafening standing ovation lasting more than a minute. The 1980–81 Beavers flirted with perfection, going 26–0 before suffering a shocking 20 point home loss to Alton Lister,

Fat Lever Lafayette "Fat" Lever (; born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as we ...

, and the 24–3

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

to close the year.White, ''Miller's Time,'' pg. 71. The season would then end in unmitigated disaster with a crushing early loss to Kansas State, 50–48, in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. Conner would finish the year fourth on the team in scoring, with an average of 7.0 points per game, and pulling down 119 rebounds — second on the Beavers to star 6'11" center Steve Johnson.

1981–82

Conner's senior season, 1981–82, looked like trouble for Oregon State, with both guards and center Steve Johnson leaving for the NBA, along with two rotation players, with those lost needing to be replaced by athletes of clearly lesser talent. Fully 71% of the offense from OSU's previous season was erased by the loss of the departures, along with 53% of the team's rebounds.White, ''Miller's Time,'' pg. 74. The arch-rival

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

entered the year with a #2 ranking; expectations for OSU to repeat as conference champions were extremely low. The Beavers had a new tool in the kit, however, with the addition of an acclaimed 6'8" freshman from Benson High School in Portland named A.C. Green, who narrowly chose OSU over coach George Raveling and

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

. Together with the maturation and improvement of pesky defensive guard William Brew and angular small forward Danny Evans, and the return of the versatile Charlie Sitton, the Beavers found themselves with a more than capable roster that racked up a Pac-10 conference record of 16–2 en route to a third straight conference title. Conner played mostly at the 2-guard position during his senior year, while frequently sharing the chore of advancing the ball against pressure. He proved his mettle as a passer, finishing the season as the Pac-10's leader in assists, with an average of 5.1 assists per game.White, ''Miller's Time,'' pg. 81. While the over-achieving Beavers again found themselves knocked out of the NCAA Tournament before they were ready, they won games in their first two rounds before running into

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...

, Sleepy Floyd, and the Georgetown Hoyas and a 24-point drubbing. Conner would finish the year as the team's scoring leader, with an average of 14.6 points per game, as well as the team's rebounding leader, with 145 boards — topping

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

A.C. Green's total of 141. During his two years as a Beaver, Conner helped lead the team to a record of 52 wins and 6 losses, a winning percentage of .897."Lester Conner,"
NBA Coach File, www.nba.com/ Conner was voted the 1982

Player of the Year, following his Oregon State teammate Steve Johnson as recipient of the award,White, ''Miller's Time,'' pg. 91. and was tapped as a 1982 AP All-American. He was remembered by OSU boss Ralph Miller as one of the top five defensive players he coached during his 38-season career.

Professional career

1982-1986: Conner was drafted in 1982 as the 14th pick overall, by the

, and played with the Warriors for 4 seasons. 1988:

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

1989-1991:

New Jersey 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 ...

1991-1992:

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 ...

, 1993:

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

1994:

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

1995:

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 ...

. He ended his NBA playing days in 1995. He earned the nickname "The Molester" for his ball-stealing defensive play."Lester Conner,"
BasketballReference.com, www.basketball-reference.com/ Conner won a CBA championship with the Rapid City Thrillers in 1987.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" , Golden State , 75 , , 10 , , 18.9 , , .479 , , .000 , , .699 , , 2.9 , , 3.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" , Golden State , 82 , , 82 , , 31.4 , , .493 , , .167 , , .718 , , 3.7 , , 4.9 , , 2.0 , , 0.1 , , 11.1 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" , Golden State , 79 , , 49 , , 28.6 , , .451 , , .200 , , .750 , , 3.1 , , 4.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" , Golden State , 36 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .375 , , .286 , , .741 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , 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 ...

, 52 , , 3 , , 7.7 , , .463 , , .000 , , .780 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 82 , , 63 , , 30.9 , , .457 , , .351 , , .788 , , 4.3 , , 7.4 , , 2.2 , , 0.1 , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 61 , , 28.7 , , .414 , , .154 , , .804 , , 3.2 , , 4.7 , , 2.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 2 , , 14.0 , , .523 , , .000 , , .690 , , 1.6 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , 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 ...

, 39 , , 2 , , 13.3 , , .396 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 9 , , 17.5 , , .431 , , .000 , , .704 , , 2.3 , , 3.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 31 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .452 , , .000 , , .947 , , 1.6 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 2.4 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 11 , , 0 , , 15.4 , , .368 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 687 , , 281 , , 21.8 , , .453 , , .202 , , .753 , , 2.7 , , 3.9 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 6.3

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .750 , , 1.000 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 4.2 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .400 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 13 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , .857 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 2.4

Coaching career

Conner began his NBA coaching career in 1998 as an assistant to head coach

of the

.Michael Cunningham
"Conner Adds His Voice to Hawks,"
''Atlanta Journal-Constitution,'' Oct. 14, 2010. Conner credits Pitino with teaching him to project his voice from the bench, shouting instructions that cut through the din of an NBA arena. He also was twice the assistant coach in

for head coach

Terry Stotts Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is the top assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coa ...

, leaving after Stotts was fired following the 2006–2007 season. Conner is considered a protege of former

head coach Jim O'Brien and has worked under O'Brien on three separate occasions. The first was with the Boston Celtics from 2001 to 2004. The second was as the associate head coach for the

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 ...

in the 2004–05 season. In June, 2007, Conner moved to Indiana, to once again work for O'Brien and the Pacers. On Feb. 2, 2010, taking over for one game for an absent O'Brien, Lester Conner instituted a few strategic changes such as moving Roy Hibbert closer to the basket and emphasizing an attacking, uptempo style preferred by the players. The Pacers scored what turned out to be a season-high 130 points in a 15-point victory amid their 32–50 season. In 2010, Conner joined Larry Drew as his top assistant at 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 ...

, leaving the team following Drew's termination at the end of the 2012–13 NBA Season. Conner joined 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 the 2013–14 season as an assistant coach. Conner has expressed an interest in returning to his alma mater, Oregon State University, as a head coach, but was informed in 2014 by Beaver Athletic Director Bob De Carolis of the university's unwillingness to make the job available to him due to Conner's lack of a college degree.Connor Letourneau
"Beavers Great Lester Conner Loses Sleep Over Oregon State Head Coaching Vacancy,"
''The Oregonian,'' May 13, 2014. Conner expressed lament at the university's refusal to consider him for what he called "the only university job I want" owing to lack of academic qualification. "I understand the importance of having the degree," Conner told an interviewer from the Portland '' Oregonian'' in May 2014. "But at the same time, that doesn't define who I am or what I am as a coach and as a person."

Footnotes

External links

"Lester Conner,"
BasketballReference.com

''Albany Democrat-Herald,'' March 17, 2016. (Video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Lester 1959 births Living people African-American basketball coaches All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Oakland, California Boston Celtics assistant coaches Chabot Gladiators men's basketball players Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Florida Beachdogs players Fremont High School (Oakland, California) alumni Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets players Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers players Los Angeles Clippers players Los Angeles Lakers players Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks players New Jersey Nets players Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Point guards Rapid City Thrillers players The Basketball League coaches