LeRoy Ellis (March 10, 1940 – June 2, 2012) was an American

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

A 6'11"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

from St. John's University, Ellis set the St. John's records for highest rebounding average in a season (16.5) and most rebounds in one game with 30. In his senior year, he received the 1962

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the All-New York Metropolitan NCAA Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) ...

as the All-Metropolitan New York Division I men's college basketball player of the year. Ellis was selected by the

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

in the first round (8th pick overall) of the 1962 NBA draft. He played in 1,048 games over 14 seasons (1962–1976) in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

with the Lakers, Baltimore Bullets,

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 league's Western Con ...

, and

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, and was a member of the 1971–72

championship team, which also won a then-record 69 games in the regular season, and recorded the longest winning streak in NBA history with 33 wins. The following season, Ellis was traded to the 76ers, who had an NBA-worst 73 losses in an 82-game season. At the close of his NBA career 1976, Ellis had amassed career totals of 10,176 points and 8,709

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 ...

. Ellis was on the first

team in 1970–71, selected from Baltimore in the 1970 expansion draft. He was in the starting lineup for the Trail Blazers' inaugural game. He was their third leading scorer (15.9 points per game)1970–71 Portland Trail Blazers Roster and Stats
/ref> and the leading rebounder, averaging 12.3 per game, the third-best average in the Blazers’ first three decades. He continued playing basketball long after his professional career ended, including being a part of several Senior Masters Games national championship teams in Portland.

Personal life

Ellis and his family settled in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, while he played professional basketball. He later entered the

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...

industry during his retirement and moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

to operate a tire store in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. LeRoy Ellis was accompanied by his son, LeRon, and the two moved to the city of

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

while waiting for the rest of their family to join them at a later time. Ellis and his wife eventually returned to Portland. Three of Ellis' children have gone on 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 ...

: his daughter Lisa played

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

for

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

; his eldest son LeRoy Jr. played

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

men's basketball for the University of the Pacific and was a member of the 1990 NCAA Division II National Champion

Kentucky Wesleyan College Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

; and another son, LeRon, played at the

and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

before playing two and a half seasons in the NBA. LeRoy Ellis' youngest son, Lee Christopher Ellis, was shot to death on a Los Angeles street in 1998 at age 19. Ellis died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

on June 2, 2012, at the age of 72.

References

External links

Career stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Leroy 1940 births 2012 deaths African-American basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball players from New York City Deaths from cancer in Oregon Centers (basketball) Deaths from prostate cancer Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players People from Far Rockaway, Queens Philadelphia 76ers players Portland Trail Blazers expansion draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Sportspeople from Queens, New York St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players People from Columbia County, Oregon Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn) alumni American men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people