Lawrence Damon Funderburke (born December 15, 1970) 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 (appr ...

player.

Basketball career

Funderburke was born and raised in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, where he played high school basketball at Wehrle High School, leading them to a state championship in his junior season (1988).

Collegiate career

Funderburke played his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year of

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 ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, where he is known for tangling with

Bobby Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

. He transferred after that season to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, where he played his three remaining years of eligibility. There, he teamed with fellow future NBA player Jimmy Jackson to lead Ohio State to the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Championship in 1992.

NBA career

Funderburke was drafted by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the

1994 NBA Draft The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...

, honing his game in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(with

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

's Ampelokipoi and PAOK and French outfit Pau-Orthez) for three years before joining the Kings in 1997. Funderburke averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds as a rookie and played a role for the Kings during their successful seasons spanning from 1999–2003 as a backup to

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic, though arguably best known and remembered as the star forward for the Sacramento King ...

. After serving mainly as a reliable backup for Webber for six seasons, Funderburke missed the entire 2003–04 season, ultimately being waived in March 2004. After appearing in two games 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, Funderburke retired in June 2005, holding NBA career averages of 6.4 points, 3.6

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and 0.6 assists per game.

Other activities

Funderburke graduated with a degree in business finance from Ohio State. While an active player in 2000, Funderburke and his wife founded the Lawrence Funderburke Youth Organization, a non-profit organization dedicated to help at-risk children through a variety of services. ''Hook Me Up, Playa!'' is a book by Funderburke that warns both professional and aspiring athletes of the dark side of the limelight through interviews with close friends who are (or were) professional athletes.

Personal life

Funderburke's daughter, Nyah, is currently a student-athlete competing for the Ohio State swim team. She qualified for the 2022 NCAA Division I Swimming Championships and was named a CSCAA first-team All-American for her contributions on Ohio State's 400-yard medley relay that finished eighth overall.

References

External links

NBA.com profile

Lawrence Funderburke Youth Organization

Basketpedya.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funderburke, Lawrence 1970 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Ampelokipoi B.C. players Basketball players from Columbus, Ohio Chicago Bulls players Élan Béarnais players Greek Basket League players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players P.A.O.K. BC players Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople