Lawrence Abney (born May 19, 1977) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 (appr ...

player and current player development coach/ basketball operations assistant for the

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

. Born in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village located primarily in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retai ...

, he was nicknamed ''Birdman'' throughout his career for his athleticism.

High school career

Abney attended

Nyack High School Nyack High School is a secondary school serving parts of the Town of Orangetown and Town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. The original Nyack High School building is now part of BOCES. Since 1990, Nyack High School has been located less t ...

. As a junior in 1993–94, he averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game as he earned fourth team all-state honors. As a senior in 1994–95, he averaged 18.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game as he earned honorable mention All-America honors from ''USA Today'' as well as first team all-state honors. In April 1995, he signed a

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

College career

After sitting out the 1995–96 season while meeting NCAA eligibility requirements, Abney spent his freshman season at

Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semester ...

in 1996–97 where he helped the Rams to their first Central Valley Conference title since 1987 and a berth in the state final four. In 34 games, he averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. In 1997, Abney returned to

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

where as a sophomore in 1997–98, he was one of three players to play in all 34 games, starting in 13. He posted seven double-digit scoring games and had three double-doubles. In those 34 games, he averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. In his junior season, he finished second on the team in field goal percentage with .559 and spent two weeks as an American representative on the People to People basketball tour in Greece. In 33 games (25 starts), he averaged 6.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In his senior season, he was named to the All-WAC second team after he helped Fresno State win the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

championship. In 34 games, he averaged 10.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. On February 17, 2000, he broke an NCAA record when he pulled down a staggering 35 rebounds in a game against Southern Methodist University – the most in a single game since 1965.

Professional career

Early years (2000–2005)

After graduating from Fresno State, Abney joined the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs for the 2000

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

season. In July 2000, he 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

for the

Rocky Mountain Revue The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

. Later that year, he signed with the Trenton Shooting Stars for the 2000–01 IBL season. In 2001, he re-joined the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. Later that year, he signed with the Mobis Automons for the 2001–02

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...

season. Following the KBL season, he joined the

Adirondack Wildcats Adirondack may refer to: Places *Adirondack Mountains, New York, US **Adirondack Park, a protected area in the US, containing a large portion of the Adirondack Mountains * Adirondack County, New York, a proposed county in New York * Adirondack, Ne ...

for the 2002 USBL season. In July 2002, he joined 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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

for the 2002 NBA Summer League. On October 31, 2002, he was selected in the 10th round of the 2002 NBA D-League draft by the

Asheville Altitude Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and ...

. In 2003, he signed with Beauvais BC of France for the 2003–04

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

season, and in 2004, he signed with

ETHA Engomis ETHA Engomis (in Greek: Ε.Θ.Α. Έγκωμης ), is a Cypriot professional basketball club based in Engomi, Cyprus. The club competes in the Cypriot League. History The club was founded in 1942, but didn't win its first trophy until 2011. ETH ...

of Cyprus for the 2004–05

Cyprus Basketball Division 1 The Cypriot Basketball Division A is currently the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Format At present, six clubs compete ...

season. In the 2005 off-season, he played for

Cocodrilos de Caracas Cocodrilos de Caracas () is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Caracas. Established in 1990, the club competes in the Venezuelan SuperLiga and has won six national championships. The Cocodrilos' home games are played at the Parque N ...

, the New Jersey Flyers and Reales de La Vega.

Australia (2005–2008)

In August 2005, Abney signed with the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...

for the

2005–06 NBL season The 2005–06 NBL season was the 28th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. Regular season The 2005–06 regular season took place over 23 rounds between 2 September 2005 to 5 February ...

. He went on to be named to the All-NBL first team and garnered NBL All-Star honors. On February 10, 2006, he re-signed with the Crocodiles on a two-year deal. Later that month, he joined

Étendard de Brest Étendard de Brest was a basketball club based in Brest, France, Brest, France. Their home arena was Salle Marcel Cerdan. Established in 1952, Brest played one season in the LNB Pro A, in 2005–06. After being relegated to the Nationale Masculine ...

of France for the rest of the 2005–06

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

season. In 2006–07, he was again an NBL All-Star honoree and was named to the All-NBL second team. In March 2007, he joined Al Jaish Damascus of Syria. On April 19, 2007, he signed a new two-year deal with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

, reportedly leaving the Crocodiles for more money. In 2007–08, he was again an NBL All-Star honoree. On December 11, 2008, Abney was released by the Taipans because the club could not longer afford him, fellow import

Dave Thomas Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital ...

or head coach Alan Black. The Taipans did continue playing, however, only after the entire team agreed to a blanket 45 per cent pay cut for the rest of the season.

Europe and Argentina (2009–2010)

On January 19, 2009, Abney signed with

EiffelTowers Den Bosch Heroes Den Bosch is a Dutch professional basketball club based in 's-Hertogenbosch. The club plays in the BNXT League since 2021 and in the top basketball division in the Netherlands since 1972. Founded as EBBC in 1951, the club had several sponso ...

for the rest of the 2008–09 season. In the summer of 2009, he signed with

Ciclista Olímpico Club Ciclista Olímpico La Banda, also known as simply Ciclista Olímpico, is an Argentine sports club based in La Banda, Santiago del Estero. The club is mostly known for its basketball team, which currently plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquet ...

of Argentina for the 2009–10 season. In November 2009, he left Ciclista Olímpico and signed with

Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca Club Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca is an Argentine sports club based in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its basketball team, that currently played in the main levels of Argentina, including Campeonato Argentino a ...

. In December 2009, he left Estudiantes after seven games. In February 2010, he signed with

Halcones Rojos Veracruz Halcones Rojos Veracruz is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Veracruz. History After two successful seasons on the basketball team Halcones UV Xalapa, and seeing how the fans to the sport was growing in the state of Veracruz, it w ...

of Mexico but left after just eight games. On March 18, 2010, he signed with

BC Khimik Khimik Yuzhne ( uk, Хімік Южне) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that is based in Yuzhne. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In 2006, the club reached the final of the EuroCup Challenge, where they were d ...

of the

Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague The Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (USL) ( uk, Українська баскетбольна суперліга) is the first-tier level of professional basketball league in Ukraine. Established in 1992, the league is currently contested by 10 c ...

. However, on April 8, 2010, he was waived by Khimik after just four games. In the summer of 2010, he signed with Gimnasia y Esgrima of Argentina for the 2010–11 season. In November 2010, he left Gimnasia. The next month, he received a try-out from

BC Odessa BC Odesa ( uk, баскетбольний клуб "Одеса") is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Odesa. The club competed in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (UBSL). Established in 1992, Odesa played in the SuperLeague f ...

of the Ukraine.

Return to NBL (2012)

On January 11, 2012, Abney signed with the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...

for the

2012 New Zealand NBL season The 2012 NBL season was the 31st season of the National Basketball League. While the Harbour Heat returned for the 2012 season, the Waikato Pistons dropped out of the league. It marked the first time the league had no Waikato presence since 198 ...

. On October 2, 2012, Abney returned to the Townsville Crocodiles, signing with the club for the

2012–13 NBL season The 2012–13 NBL season was the 35th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 5 October 2012 and 24 March 2013, followed by a post-season which invo ...

. However, on November 28, 2012, he announced his retirement on advice from his surgeon, who discovered a small hole in his thigh bone. He managed just nine games for the Crocodiles in 2012–13, averaging 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Corporate career

Following his retirement from professional basketball, Abney transitioned into corporate America, eventually earning a position as a District Sales Manager for Pepsico FritoLay North America, where he remained until 2017.

Los Angeles Clippers

In 2017, Abney joined the staff of the Los Angeles Clippers as a player development coach and basketball operations assistant under head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers.

Personal

Abney is the son of Robin Hauser. He has one younger brother, three younger sisters, and four sons. In 2017 he received his Masters in Business Administration from the Craig School of Business (Fresno State). In 2018 alongside childhood friends, former teammates, and fellow Rockland, NY natives Steve Canal and Chester Felts, Abney co-founded Rockland Legacy, an organization that provides support and mentorship to help Rockland County's youth achieve their dreams.

References

External links

High school career

College career

Professional career

Early years (2000–2005)

Australia (2005–2008)

Europe and Argentina (2009–2010)

Return to NBL (2012)

Corporate career

Los Angeles Clippers

Personal

See also

References

External links