Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former 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 ...

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and center who played 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 ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

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), ...

, and

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

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). Born and raised in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, LaFrentz attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

and was drafted in

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 ...

by the

. He was known for his perimeter shooting and his shot blocking abilities. In 2019–20 LaFrentz became an assistant basketball coach at Decorah High School in

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...

Career

High school

Raef LaFrentz attended MFL MarMac High School located in Monona, Iowa. His father, Ron, was an assistant coach on LaFrentz's high school team. He was named to the

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

All-USA 1st Team in 1994 and was a high school

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

. During the summer before his freshman year at the

, LaFrentz was selected to the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival North Team and averaged 11.8 ppg. and 6.8 rpg.

College

LaFrentz played basketball at

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, finishing in 1998. He played with future NBA Hall of Famer

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

and journeyman Scot Pollard while at Kansas. The 1996–97 team finished the season ranked #1 in the country, but lost to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

(led by future NBA stars

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guar ...

and

Mike Bibby Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at California State University, Sacramento. He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the ...

) in the Regional Semifinal. He was a four-year starter and an All-American in his junior and senior seasons. He joined

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

as the only players in the 1990s to earn first team AP

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors twice. Compiling career averages of 15.8 ppg and 9.1 rpg while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor overall, he concluded his career ranked second all-time at Kansas in points with 2,066 and rebounds with 1,186, and left trailing only

Danny Manning Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

in both categories. Accumulating a record of 123–17 (87.9 winning percentage) over his four seasons, he was part of a senior class that won more games over a four-year period than any class in KU history. Named by the A.P. in 1997 and 1998 the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, he was also tabbed All-Big 12 Conference first team by both the media and coaches his final two seasons. LaFrentz became the first KU player in 27 years to average a double-double over an entire season when he posted 19.8 ppg and 11.4 rpg averages as a senior in 1997–98, leading the Jayhawks to a 35–4 record.

NBA

The third overall pick by the

in the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

, LaFrentz averaged 13.8 ppg., 7.6 rpg. and 1.4 bpg. but played in just 12 games as a rookie and missed the majority of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee against Dallas on February 25, 1999. Successfully returning from the torn ACL to start 80 of his 81 appearances in 1999–2000, he averaged 12.4 ppg., an NBA 25th best 7.9 rpg. and ranked eighth in the NBA in blocked shots, averaging 2.2 bpg. LaFrentz also played in the 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend. He played on the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge Sophomore Roster. It was the first ever Sophomore team to play in the rookie challenge. It was there at NBA All-Star Weekend that LaFrentz was on the receiving end of Jason Williams' legendary "elbow pass". LaFrentz was unable to score on the play due to being fouled. In his third year (2000–01), he started 74 of the 78 games he played in and averaged 12.9 ppg., while ranking seventh in the league in blocks at 2.6 bpg., tied for 25th in rebounding with a 7.8 rpg. average, and tied for 27th in field goal percentage (career high .477). Between November 2001 and February 2002, LaFrentz had a historical run in which he totaled at least five 3-pointers and five blocked shots in four separate games (in a span of just three months); up to that point, it had only occurred four times total in NBA history, and no one had done it more than once. He remains the all-time leader in league history in reaching that milestone.

Kristaps Porziņģis Kristaps Porziņģis (; born 2 August 1995) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Unicorn" for his ability to make plays and shoot 3-pointers as a Center ...

is second with three such games in his career, each with a different team. LaFrentz was traded by the Nuggets with

Nick Van Exel Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA ...

, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the

for Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway and a 2002 first-round pick on February 21, 2002. He finished the 2001–02 season second in the NBA in blocked shots per game. LaFrentz played for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. The Celtics acquired LaFrentz from the Dallas Mavericks, along with Chris Mills, Jiri Welsch and a first-round draft choice, in exchange for Tony Delk and Antoine Walker on October 20, 2003. On November 13, 2005, LaFrentz became the first NBA player to have a perfect 7–7 three point shooting half. This feat would be tied by 10 other NBA players before it was eclipsed by Jalen Brunson with an 8–8 half on December 15, 2023. On June 28, 2006, the Boston Celtics traded LaFrentz, guard Dan Dickau, and the number seven pick in the 2006 NBA draft to the Portland Trail Blazers for center

Theo Ratliff Theophalus Curtis Ratliff (born April 17, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Alabama, Ratliff played for and graduated from the University of Wyo ...

and guard Sebastian Telfair.Raef LaFrentz NBA Basketball at CBSSports.com
/ref> The number 7 pick ( Randy Foye) was later traded by the Blazers for the number 6 pick ( Brandon Roy) in a draft day trade.

Career highlights and awards

;College * NCAA Division I men's basketball player with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds * NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-American (1997, 1998) * Kansas Jayhawks Retired Basketball Jersey #45 * Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year ;NBA * Third overall pick in the

* Played in 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend * Led Western Conference in Blocks (2001–02) * Led Western Conference in Blocks per game (2001–02) * Played on

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as Team USA and the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. It is the most successful men's team in international competition, ...

(2002) ;NBA records * Most blocks in an NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge Game * Most blocks per game in NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge history

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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, 12 , , 12 , , 32.3 , , .457 , , .387 , , .750 , , 7.6 , , .7 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , 13.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 80 , , 30.1 , , .446 , , .328 , , .686 , , 7.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 2.2 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 74 , , 31.5 , , .477 , , .367 , , .698 , , 7.8 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 2.6 , , 12.9 , - , rowspan="2" align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 51 , , 51 , , 32.7 , , .466 , , .434 , , .667 , , 7.4 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 3.0 , , 14.9 , - , align="left" ,

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 27 , , 25 , , 29.1 , , .437 , , .305 , , .761 , , 7.4 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 2.2 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 69 , , 43 , , 23.3 , , .518 , , .405 , , .682 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.3 , , 9.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 17 , , 1 , , 19.3 , , .460 , , .200 , , .769 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .8 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 80 , , 27.5 , , .496 , , .364 , , .811 , , 6.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 11.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 63 , , 24.8 , , .431 , , .392 , , .680 , , 5.0 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .9 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Portland , 27 , , 9 , , 13.0 , , .382 , , .087 , , .769 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , .4 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Portland , 39 , , 0 , , 7.5 , , .443 , , .000 , , .579 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 563 , , 438 , , 25.8 , , .466 , , .363 , , .711 , , 6.1 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 1.6 , , 10.1

Playoffs

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, 8 , , 8 , , 30.6 , , .500 , , .333 , , .545 , , 7.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 2.8 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" ,

, 20 , , 16 , , 24.6 , , .433 , , .200 , , .842 , , 4.4 , , .3 , , .6 , , 2.2 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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, 7 , , 7 , , 26.4 , , .390 , , .500 , , .800 , , 4.9 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.7 , , 6.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 35 , , 31 , , 26.3 , , .446 , , .297 , , .750 , , 5.2 , , .5 , , .5 , , 2.2 , , 8.5

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 23.6 , , .534 , , .400 , , .637 , , 9.7 , , 7.5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 27.0 , , .543 , , .286 , , .661 , , 8.2 , , .4 , , .9 , , .8 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 28.9 , , .584 , , .167 , , .761 , , 9.3 , , .7 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 30 , , 30.2 , , .548, , .471 , , .738 , , 11.4 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 1.5 , , 19.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 131 , , 131 , , 27.5 , , .555 , , .371 , , .712 , , 9.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 15.8

References

External links

*
SI.com profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafrentz, Raef 1976 births Living people 2002 FIBA World Championship players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Iowa Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players High school basketball coaches in Iowa Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Clayton County, Iowa People from Hampton, Iowa Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards United States men's national basketball team players

Career

High school

College

NBA

Career highlights and awards

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

See also

References

External links