Lucas Clayton Sikma (born July 30, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He is the son of former

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 St ...

(NBA) Hall-of-Famer

Jack Sikma Jack Wayne Sikma (born November 14, 1955) is an American former professional basketball center. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who drafted him in the first round with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft. ...

High school career

Sikma, a 6'8"

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

, played high school basketball for Bellevue High School in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as ...

. He was a late bloomer, growing 7 inches over two years and only making the varsity team as a junior and senior. As a result, he was not highly recruited. Ultimately he chose to sign with the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

College career

Despite his modest reputation coming into the

Portland Pilots The Portland Pilots is the nickname for athletics at the University of Portland. The Pilots compete in the West Coast Conference (WCC) at the NCAA Division I level. History The Pilots started to gain attention when Clive Charles began coachi ...

program in 2007, Sikma was able to make an immediate impact, starting 23 of the team's 31 games and averaging 6.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. After steady production as a sophomore and junior, Sikma stepped up his game significantly as a senior. He averaged a double-double at 12.9 points and West Coast Conference-leading 10.5 rebounds per game. He was named to the All-WCC first team. In his college career, Sikma scored 1,048 points (8.3 per game) and graduated as the Pilots' all-time leading rebounder with 987 (7.8 per game).

Professional career

Sikma was not selected in the 2011 NBA draft. He signed with

UB La Palma Unión Baloncesto La Palma is a professional basketball team based in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of ...

of Spain's second division (

LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonce ...

) for the 2011–12 season. He averaged 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds before moving to Autocid Ford Burgos the following season. For the 2013–14 season Sikma moved up to the Spanish first division ( Liga ACB), signing with

CB Canarias Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., commonly known as CB Canarias and known as Lenovo Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team pl ...

. After spending two years in Canarias with notable performances, Sikma signed for two years with

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spon ...

. In 2017, Sikma won the Liga ACB with Valencia after beating Real Madrid 3–1 in the league finals. On July 5, 2017, Sikma signed with German club Alba Berlin of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). On April 28, 2018, Sikma was named the BBL Most Valuable Player and to the All-BBL First Team. On June 12, 2019, Alba Berlin announced a four-year extension of Sikma's contract.

References

External links

Spanish League profilePortland Pilots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikma, Luke 1989 births Living people Alba Berlin players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American people of Dutch descent Basketball players from Washington (state) CB Canarias players Liga ACB players Portland Pilots men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Bellevue, Washington UB La Palma players Valencia Basket players