John Harding Lucas III (born November 21, 1982) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of 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 St ...

(NBA). He played college basketball for Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Early life

Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to former NBA player and coach John Lucas II and his wife DeEdgra, Lucas lived in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania for a time as a youth. Lucas was the starting point guard on the Bellaire High School basketball team and played alongside fellow future NBA players Emeka Okafor and Lawrence Roberts. Lucas has a younger brother, Jai. He originally played collegiately at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

, but transferred from there to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in the wake of the 2003 Baylor basketball scandal. Lucas is noted for his winning shot against the Saint Joseph's University team that sent the 2004 Oklahoma State Cowboys to the NCAA Final Four.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fr ...

, Lucas joined the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

for the 2005 NBA Summer League. The Timberwolves also signed him to their training camp roster. During the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dres ...

, Lucas was called up by the Houston Rockets from the Tulsa 66ers in December 2005. He played 13 games for the Rockets between December and February. Lucas's call-up made him the first Tulsa 66ers player to be called up from the NBA Development League. He averaged 16.6 points in 33.2 mins per game with the 66ers. On May 10, 2006, Lucas signed with Snaidero Udine of the Italian League, to fill the gap left by Jerome Allen, who was out for the season due to injury. On July 28, 2006, Lucas signed with the Rockets to a three-year contract. In the 2006–07 season, Lucas and the Rockets made it to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, where they lost to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the first round, in 7 games. On October 30, 2007, Lucas was one of four players cut from the Rockets' roster, prior to the commencement of the 2007–08 season. He subsequently returned to Italian basketball, joining Benetton Treviso in January 2008. He was then later released by Treviso in March. Lucas was signed by the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

in September 2008 but was released by them in November before playing in any NBA games for them. In February 2009, he signed with the Colorado 14ers and helped them go on to win the 2008–09 D-League championship. On April 27, 2009, Lucas signed with TAU Cerámica of the Spanish ACB League for the remainder of the season. On September 2, 2009, Lucas was drafted by the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

in the NBA Development League expansion draft. Lucas played in the 2009 NBA preseason for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. He played four games and averaged 7.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game. On October 23, 2009, Lucas was waived by the Heat. Lucas then spent the 2009–10 season with the

Shanghai Sharks The Shanghai Sharks () are a Chinese Basketball Association team based in Shanghai. It is best known outside China as the club that developed Yao Ming before he entered the National Basketball Association. With Yao on the team, the Sharks made t ...

of the CBA. Lucas spent the 2010 NBA preseason with 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 ...

but was waived on October 21. The Bulls re-signed him on November 26. In his debut for the Bulls, Lucas missed two critical free throws in the final seconds of a 98–97 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He was waived on January 4, 2011, and signed with the Shanghai Sharks in China. After his 2-month China stint, he returned to America and re-signed with the Bulls on March 20, 2011. On January 11, 2012, Lucas received his first-ever NBA start and achieved a career-high of 25 points, leading the Bulls in a 78–64 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. He also played 45 minutes, made 11 of 28 field goal attempts, and had 8 assists and 8 rebounds (all career-highs). On March 14, 2012, the Bulls hosted the Miami Heat. The Bulls were missing Derrick Rose, who was out due to a groin injury. Lucas scored 24 points and led the Chicago Bulls to a 106–102 victory over the Miami Heat. On March 21, 2012, Lucas led the Bulls to a comeback victory over the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

, scoring all of his 13 points in the 4th quarter. On July 27, 2012, Lucas signed with the

. On July 22, 2013, Lucas signed with the

. On July 22, 2014, Lucas was traded, along with

Erik Murphy Erik Murphy (born October 26, 1990) is a French-born Finnish-American professional basketball player for the Fukushima Firebonds of the Japanese B.League. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2013, he also represents the Finnish national team. High s ...

and Malcolm Thomas, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for

Carrick Felix Carrick Felix (born August 17, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played three years of college basketball for Arizona State before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 33rd overall pick in the 2013 NBA dr ...

, a 2015 second round draft pick and cash considerations. On September 25, 2014, he was traded, along with

, Dwight Powell, Malcolm Thomas and the Cavaliers' 2016 and 2017 second-round picks, to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Keith Bogans and two future second-round picks. Four days later, he was waived by the Celtics. On October 21, 2014, Lucas signed with the

. Four days later, he was waived by the Wizards. On November 21, 2014, he signed with the

Fujian Sturgeons Fujian SBS Xunxing Sturgeons (Simplified Chinese: 福建SBS浔兴鲟) or Fujian Xunxing or Fujian SBS are a Chinese professional men's basketball team in the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian. The "SBS" reflects c ...

for the rest of the 2014–15 CBA season. His final game for Fujian came on January 30, 2015, and left China having averaged 26.3 points, 7.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds over 28 games. On February 2, he signed a 10-day contract with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. On February 12, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Pistons. On February 25, he signed with the Pistons for the rest of the season. On September 28, 2015, Lucas signed with the

. However, he was later waived by the Heat on October 24 after appearing in one preseason game. On January 14, 2016, Lucas was acquired by the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad ...

of the NBA Development League. One day later, he made his debut in a 109–104 loss to the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

, recording 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action. On March 6, he was waived by the Mad Ants after averaging 17.7 points per game in 18 games. On March 17, he signed with

Piratas de Quebradillas The Piratas de Quebradillas is a Puerto Rican basketball team, part of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. Founded in the mid 1920s, it is one of the original teams of the league. The club enjoyed its most successful era during the 1970s, ...

of the Puerto Rican League. On September 26, 2016, Lucas signed with the

. On January 7, 2017, he was waived by the Timberwolves after appearing in five games.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

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, 49 , , 2 , , 14.8 , , .399 , , .393 , , .875 , , 1.6 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .0 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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Playoffs

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2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

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Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .450 , , .385 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , .0 , , 8.3 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .439 , , .397 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , .0 , , 6.1

Coaching career

On September 21, 2017, the

announced additions to their coaching staff for the 2017–18 season while Lucas was named as Player Development Coach. On September 15, 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that they had hired Lucas as assistant coach. On June 7, 2022, he was let go as new Lakers coach

Darvin Ham Darvin Ham Sr. (born July 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Re ...

formed his staff.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, John iii 1982 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Houston Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Baylor Bears men's basketball players Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas) alumni Chicago Bulls players Colorado 14ers players Detroit Pistons players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Fujian Sturgeons players Houston Rockets players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches Minnesota Timberwolves players Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball players Pallacanestro Treviso players Pallalcesto Amatori Udine players People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Piratas de Quebradillas players Point guards Saski Baskonia players Shanghai Sharks players Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Toronto Raptors players Tulsa 66ers players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Utah Jazz players 20th-century African-American people