Lucien James Longley (born 19 January 1969) is an Australian 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. He was the first Australian to play in 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), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons. He most notably played for 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 ...

, with whom he won three championships from

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. Longley represented Australia as a player at three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in 1988,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

; he has worked as an assistant coach for the

Australian national basketball team The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has placed among the world elite teams, ...

. Longley began his career in Australia with a brief stint playing for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1986. He played collegiately for the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999 ...

and was drafted 7th overall by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

in the

1991 NBA draft The 1991–92 NBA season, 1991 NBA draft took place on June 26, 1991, in New York City, New York. Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969), Larry Johnson was selected first overall; he won the 1992 NBA Rookie of the Year award and as a two-time All ...

. He played three seasons with the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Bulls in 1994. He became the Bulls' starting centre during their historic 1995–96 season when they set the NBA record for most wins in a regular season with 72. Longley was an important component of the team's success and stayed in the Bulls' starting lineup during their championship

three-peat In sports (especially in North America), a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships or tournaments. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Ass ...

. After the demise of the Bulls after their 1998 championship win, he had brief stints playing with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Early life and career

Longley was born 19 January 1969 in

Melbourne, Victoria 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 ...

, to Sue (''née'' Hansen) and Richard Longley. Longley's father was an architect who stood tall and represented Australia at international level in basketball, including being a member of two Olympic squads. His mother, who is tall, is an equestrian who has been divorced from Richard since 1984 and lives in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. Longley has two brothers, Sam, a journalist and actor, and Griffin, also a journalist who also played briefly for the Perth Wildcats. Longley grew up in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. At the age of 16 he was a member of the Australian Under-19 side and the following year, 1986, he joined the Wildcats, with whom he played two games. Longley was recruited out of Scotch College in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

by the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

's basketball coach, Gary Colson, who went to Perth to recruit Longley's childhood friend

Andrew Vlahov Andrew Mitchell Vlahov (born 1 April 1969) is an Australian retired professional basketball player. He played his entire eleven-year professional career for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL), with whom he won three ch ...

, who ended up attending

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Vlahov and Longley both played their junior basketball for the Perth Redbacks on the same team. Longley attended college at the University of New Mexico, from 1987 to 1991, where he averaged 19.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his senior year. He helped New Mexico reach the NCAA Tournament in 1991. At nineteen he was a member of the national team for the Seoul Olympics, where they finished fourth, at the time the best result an Australian senior men's basketball team had achieved in Olympic competition. Longley also spent time at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in 1986 and 1987 (before heading to New Mexico) under the coaching of Australian Boomers head coach Adrian Hurley, attending the AIS with Vlahov and another emerging basketball player from

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Mark Bradtke. Throughout the 1990s, the trio formed the nucleus of the Australian Boomers front court with Longley at centre, 6'10" (208 cm) Bradtke at

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 ...

, and 6'7" (201 cm) Vlahov at

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 ...

. When Longley returned home to Perth during college breaks, he regularly suited up for the Perth Redbacks, helping the team to win consecutive State Basketball League (SBL) championships in 1989 and 1990.

NBA career

Minnesota Timberwolves

Longley was drafted 7th overall by the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. After long contract negotiations that were still going on when the 1991–92 NBA season started and actually prevented him from playing for the first month, he made his NBA debut for the Timberwolves on 30 November 1991. In 1992, he again represented Australia at the Barcelona Olympics. After two-plus seasons with the struggling franchise, the center was traded to the

for Stacey King late in the 1993–94 season.

Chicago Bulls

Longley became the Bulls' starting center. He won three straight championships with the Bulls from 1996 to 1998, becoming the first Australian player to win an NBA title and the only to have won three championships. After he played 55 games from the bench in 1994–95, Chicago Bulls coach

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

made him the starting center in 1995–96. Post-season surgery to his left ankle and the recovery time forced him to miss playing for the Australian Boomers at the

Olympics in

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 ...

. Longley missed almost two months of the 1996–97 season after dislocating his shoulder while body surfing at

Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (, Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Ba ...

near the team's hotel after a game in

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, ...

. In a 2014 interview on Australian television, Longley stated that during that period,

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

began calling him to urge him to get back on the court soon because he had no one to set screens for him.

Phoenix Suns

After the breakup of the Bulls roster after the 1997–98 season, Chicago did a sign-and-trade deal with Longley, sending him to the

for Mark Bryant, Martin Müürsepp, Bubba Wells, and a conditional first-round draft pick.

New York Knicks

Longley was traded to the

prior to 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 ...

in what was only the second four-team trade in NBA history. The Suns acquired Chris Dudley as part of the deal together with a first-round draft pick from New York and an undisclosed amount of cash, while New York received Longley, Glen Rice, Travis Knight, Vladimir Stepania, Lazaro Borrell, Vernon Maxwell, two first-round draft picks (from 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 ...

and the Seattle SuperSonics), and two second-round draft picks from Seattle. Seattle received

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 ...

and the Lakers received Horace Grant, Greg Foster, Chuck Person, and Emanual Davis. Longley played one year with New York before retiring, due to a degenerative condition in his left ankle.

National team career

Luc Longley made his international debut for the Australia national basketball team in 1988 and would be, whenever possible, the preferred starting centre for the next 12 years. He appeared in three Summer Olympic Games (1988, 1992 and 2000) as well as at the

1990 FIBA World Championship The 1990 FIBA World Championship was the 11th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990. The final phase of the competition was held at t ...

. Unfortunately, injury prevented him from playing for Australia at the 1996 Olympic games as well as the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

s. During his international career, Longley played alongside a number of the greats of Australian basketball including Andrew Gaze, Phil Smyth, Mark Bradtke, Andrew Vlahov,

Ray Borner Ray Borner OAM (born 27 May 1962) is an Australian former basketball player who competed in the National Basketball League. He was named as the NBL's Most Valuable Player for the 1985 season, becoming the first Australian born player to win t ...

, Brett Maher, and Larry Sengstock.

Awards

In 2001, Longley was inducted into the

'Best of the Best'. He was a part-owner of the Perth Wildcats basketball club in the Australian National Basketball League for several years and was the #1 ticket holder at the Fremantle Dockers in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

between 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he was inducted into Basketball Australia's Hall of Fame in Melbourne. On 8 October 2009 Longley was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

at its 25th anniversary dinner in

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 ...

, becoming only the fourth basketball player to be inducted along with Andrew Gaze, Michele Timms, and Phil Smyth. In August 2021, Longley was inducted into the Basketball Western Australia Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

Longley has spoken of the importance of the Australian Boomers to his growth as a player, citing it as the reason he wanted to return to the national program as an assistant coach; he would later become the assistant coach of the Australian men's national basketball team from 2013 to 2019.

Personal life

Longley was married to an American, Kelly Yates, whom he met while he was attending college in Albuquerque and they have two daughters. He married an Australian, Anna Gare, a former musician and current television presenter, in 2008. The Longley family are well known in the

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

area, to the extent that a 25-year-old, then Chicago Bulls player, Longley was present at the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...

's unveiling and launch at the Fremantle Port. He cited Fremantle at the time as "one of the world's great spots". In 1996, Longley bought a house in

Riverwoods, Illinois Riverwoods is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was established on the banks of the Des Plaines River in 1959 by local steel magnate Jay Peterson. Per the 2020 census, the population was 3,790. The corporate headquarters of ...

. Also in 1996, he wrote a book, ''Running with the Bulls,'' about the 1995–96 season; Bulls coach Phil Jackson wrote the foreword. On 6 April 2007, Longley's $2 million home in Fremantle was destroyed by a fire. It was initially believed that much of Longley's memorabilia from his basketball career was lost, although he later said he only lost his 1996 team photo. He then bought a warehouse on a nearby street which Gare's father, an architect, converted into a house for their needs. In 2015, the couple moved to a property near the coastal

n town of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. In December 2009 Longley, who had previously participated in marine conservation efforts, named a newly discovered shrimp species '' Lebbeus clarehannah'' after his 15-year-old daughter. His wife's sister Sophie is married to British comedian

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

References

External links

NBA.com player file
* https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/longllu01.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Longley, Luc 1969 births Living people 20th-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen 1990 FIBA World Championship players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Australian men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Melbourne Basketball players from Perth, Western Australia Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players Members of the Order of Australia Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Minnesota Timberwolves players NBA players from Australia New Mexico Lobos men's basketball players New York Knicks players Olympic basketball players for Australia People educated at Scotch College, Perth People from Riverwoods, Illinois Basketball players from Lake County, Illinois Perth Wildcats players Phoenix Suns players Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Western Australian Institute of Sport alumni Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners Sportsmen from Victoria (state)