Loren Henry Meyer (born December 30, 1972) is a retired American 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 who played three seasons in the
National Basketball Association
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 S ...
(NBA). He was selected by the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
in the first round (24th pick overall) of the
1995 NBA draft
The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouve ...
.
Biography
Meyer was born in
Emmetsburg, Iowa
Emmetsburg is a city in Palo Alto County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,706 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Palo Alto County. Emmetsburg is located around the southern bay of Five Island Lake.
History
The to ...
. He attended Ruthven-Ayrshire High School in
Ruthven, Iowa.
A 6'10", 257-pound
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 ...
who played college basketball at
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, Meyer played in three NBA seasons for the Mavericks,
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
and
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 ...
.
In his NBA career, Meyer played in a total of 140 games and scored a total of 645 points, averaging 4.6 points per game.
Meyer was inducted into the Iowa High School Basketball Hall of Fame in March 2009.
Meyer currently resides in his hometown of Ruthven, Iowa where he owns farmland.
Professional career
Dallas Mavericks (1995-1996)
Meyer was selected with 24th overall pick in the first round of the
1995 NBA Draft. He was drafted by the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
who landed him in a trade with
Rolando Blackman
Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, ...
in the 1992 off-season. The Mavericks were a rebuilding team at the team at the time and they had four Centers on the team throughout the
1995-96 season, so Meyer had to fight for minutes. And he earned himself some good minutes, averaging 17.6 minutes per game in his rookie season. He averaged 5.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game in his rookie campaign. He was seen as inefficient and undersized for his position, but he was a good athletic defender and hustler and he had the intangibles which didn't show up the box score but were valuable in-game. On December 28, 1995 Meyer recorded a career high 13 rebounds in a 103-101 win to the
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...
. On March 31, 1996 Meyer recorded a season high 14 points in a 115-100 loss to the
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 ...
.
Phoenix Suns (1996-1998)
On December 26, 1996 Meyer was involved in a blockbuster trade which included himself,
Jason Kidd
Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards ...
, and
Tony Dumas
Tony Dumas (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player.
College career
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dumas played collegiately at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), whose athletic program is now known as t ...
to the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
in exchange for
Sam Cassell
Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall i ...
,
Michael Finley
Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the ...
,
A.C. Green
A.C. Green Jr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iron man (sports streak), Iron Man", he holds a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games playe ...
, and a 1998 2nd round draft pick (
Greg Buckner
Gregory Derayle Buckner (born September 16, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the associate head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He had previously served as an assis ...
was selected). Meyer averaged 4.9 points for the whole season but for the Suns he averaged a career high 5.4 points per game. He became a better scorer and shot better percentages from the field. He averaged a career high 44% FG% and a whopping 60% 3pt% for the Suns. On January 14, 1997 Meyer dropped a career high 18 points in a 110-101 win against 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 ...
. Meyer helped the Suns reach the 1997 playoffs. They went 40-42 and despite the losing season they placed 7th in the Western Conference and qualified for the post-season. The Suns played the
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
in Meyer's first and only playoff appearance. The Suns played surprisingly well and pushed the SuperSonics to 5 games before ultimately losing the series 2-3.
Unfortunately for Meyer, he missed the entire
1997-1998 season due to injury. On June 30, 1998 the Suns waived Meyer.
Denver Nuggets (1999)
On January 23, 1999 Meyer was signed as a free agent by 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 ...
. At 26 years old, Meyer should've been physically entering the prime of his career, however when he came back to the NBA his game had fallen off. Due to the injury that sidelined him for the whole 1997-1998 season, he hadn't played an NBA game since May 3, 1997. Unfortunately this was a major detriment to his career, as he never statistically recovered from his absence in the league. His scoring, efficiency and overall play dropped. He averaged 1.1 points, on 20% 3pt% and 25% FG%. He only appeared in 14 games for the Nuggets who failed to make the playoffs in that season. After the 1998-1999 season ended, Meyer was released by the Nuggets on August 6, 1999.
Retirement
He retired from the NBA shortly after being released by the Denver Nuggets.
References
External links
Basketball-Reference.com: Loren MeyerKTIV.com: Loren Meyer remembered on "KTIV Classics"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Loren
1972 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Iowa
Centers (basketball)
Cheshire Jets players
Dallas Mavericks draft picks
Dallas Mavericks players
Denver Nuggets players
Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from Emmetsburg, Iowa
Phoenix Suns players