Lucius Allen Explained

Lucius Oliver Allen Jr. (born September 26, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. He is one of only a select few players to have won at least one high school state championship, collegiate national championship, and NBA championship.

Early life

Allen was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, and played basketball for Wyandotte High School. During this time, he was a prep All-American player under head coach Walter Shublom and was named consensus first-team all-state as a junior and senior as he led Wyandotte to back-to-back Class AA state championships in 1964 and 1965.

College career

During his freshman year, Allen scored the very first points ever scored in Pauley Pavilion history during the annual freshman vs varsity game. During that game, the freshmen defeated the varsity 75–60. During his freshman season, the UCLA freshmen team finished the season undefeated and Allen averaged 22.4 points per game. His roommate was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was then known as Lew Alcindor. During his sophomore year, Allen played on the varsity team and averaged 15.5 points per game while helping lead the Bruins to an undefeated 30–0 season and the 1967 National Championship. Allen was named to the NCAA Championship and Regional All-Tournament teams. During his junior year, he averaged 15.1 points per game and helped the Bruins win a second consecutive NCAA Championship while playing alongside Abdul-Jabbar. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team and was selected as a second-team All-American.

Professional career

Following his junior year, Allen entered the 1969 NBA draft and was selected 3rd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. As a member of the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks team, which also featured Alcindor, Allen earned an NBA championship ring. They would both return to the NBA Finals in 1974 before losing to the Boston Celtics in 7 games. This was Allen's last season in Milwaukee, during which he arguably played his greatest professional game, a 39-point and 6 assist effort during a loss against the Detroit Pistons on January 2.^[1] He also played with Alcindor—now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—for two seasons (1975–77) in Los Angeles, but did not win a championship in either of those years. Allen was traded the following season to the Kansas City Kings, winning the division championship in 1979, and retired from basketball after that season.

Allen played 10 years in the NBA for four teams. His highest scoring average was 19.1 points per game, during the 1974–75 season.^[2] Part of the way through that season he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after playing with the Milwaukee Bucks since the 1970–71 season.

Later life

After finishing his basketball career, which included a high school state championship, college national championship, and an NBA championship, Allen turned his attention to coaching aspiring players in the Los Angeles area.^[3]

Legacy and awards

In 1999, The Topeka Capital-Journal named Lucius Oliver Allen Jr. of Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, as the greatest Kansas high school basketball player of the 20th century. New Arena named Allen as the best basketball player of all-time from the State of Kansas.^[4] Allen was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2000. He was inducted into the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball Hall of Honor on March 16, 2013.^[5]

Career statistics

NBA

Source^[6]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	Seattle	81	22.4	.442	.731	2.6	4.2			9.8
†	Milwaukee	61	19.0	.447	.700	2.5	2.6			7.1
	Milwaukee	80	29.0	.505	.764	3.2	4.2			13.5
	Milwaukee	80	33.7	.484	.715	3.5	5.3			15.5
	Milwaukee	72	33.2	.495	.788	4.0	5.2	1.9	0.3	17.6
	Milwaukee	10	34.2	.415	.838	3.1	5.3	1.4	0.1	16.7
	L.A. Lakers	56	35.9	.440	.770	4.4	5.7	2.2	0.5	19.5
	L.A. Lakers	76	31.4	.459	.776	2.8	4.7	1.3	0.3	14.7
	L.A. Lakers	78	31.8	.456	.774	3.2	5.2	1.5	0.2	14.6
	Kansas City	77	27.9	.441	.791	3.0	4.7	1.2	0.4	11.9
	Kansas City	31	13.3	.397	.576	1.5	1.4	0.7	0.2	5.1
Career	702	28.7	.463	.760	3.1	4.5	1.5	0.3	13.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1971†	Milwaukee	14	22.3	.506	.714	2.9	3.7			7.3
1972	Milwaukee	11	35.1	.470	.759	3.5	3.8			17.9
1973	Milwaukee	6	33.8	.404	.786	2.7	3.5			15.7
1977	L.A. Lakers	7	26.6	.390	.684	4.6	3.4	1.6	0.4	11.0
1979	Kansas City	5	14.6	.469	1.000	1.4	0.6	0.4	0.2	7.2
Playoffs	43	27.0	.449	.756	3.1	3.3	1.1	0.3	11.8

Notes and References

1. Web site: Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons Box Score, January 2, 1974.
2. http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=Lucius_Allen Lucius Allen
3. Web site: Train with Lucius, a Basketball coach on CoachUp.
4. Web site: RANKED: The Best Basketball Player of All-Time From Each State.
5. Web site: Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor to induct 2012-13 class.
6. Web site: -Lucius Allen NBA stats. Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. 13 July 2023.