Leonard King (born 1966) is an American former

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. He played

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 the

Florida A&M Rattlers The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's s ...

before playing the majority of his career in New Zealand with the

Otago Nuggets The Otago Nuggets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Dunedin. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Edgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Night 'n Day Otago ...

. Listed as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

in college, he was named the recipient of the

New Zealand NBL Most Outstanding Guard Award The National Basketball League Most Outstanding Guard is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the league's inaugural season to the best performing guard of the regular season. The winner receives the Keith Carr Trophy, w ...

in 1994.

High school and college career

King attended

Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland Heights High School (commonly known as Heights, Heights High or Heights High School) is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States. History ...

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th larges ...

, where he was named Class AAA All-Ohio as a senior in 1983–84. King played

for the

between 1984 and 1989. He sat out the 1987–88 season. In 107 games, he averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Professional career

As a professional, King played in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg and New Zealand. King played for the

in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) from 1991 to 1998 and again in 2004. He was named NZNBL Most Outstanding Guard in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and earned NZNBL All-Star Five honors in 1994 and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. He played 181 games for the Nuggets and averaged more than 25 points a game. As of 2019, he is the franchise's all time leader in points, rebounds and steals, as well as second in assists and blocks. In 1999 and 2000, King played for the North Otago Penguins in the

Conference Basketball League The Conference Basketball League (CBL) was a second-tiered men's semi-professional basketball league in New Zealand. During the 1980s and 1990s, the CBL served as a means of promotion and relegation between the National Basketball League (NBL). ...

(CBL). He helped them win back-to-back championships and earned the Most Valuable Player award in 2000.

Coaching career

Following the conclusion of his playing career, King began working with Basketball New Zealand as a high performance coach. He was an assistant coach with the New Zealand Tall Blacks in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, King moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, to coach the Mackay Meteors in the

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

(QBL). He was named the QBL Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2010. He left the Meteors following the 2010 season. In 2011, King served as head coach of the Brisbane Spartans of the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL). In 2012 and 2013, King served as head coach of the Northside Wizards in the QBL. King worked for Basketball Queensland during the 2010s and was the Emerging Boomers' assistant coach in 2016. In 2017, he returned to Basketball New Zealand as their general manager for high performance.

Personal life

King and his wife Tracey have two children, Tylah and Mojave. His son is also a professional basketball player. King's great-grandmother was full Native American while his grandfather was half Native American and half African American.

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Leonard 1966 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Luxembourg American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Portugal American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cleveland Cleveland Heights High School alumni Florida A&M Rattlers basketball players Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Otago Nuggets players