Samuel Lacey (March 28, 1948 – March 14, 2014) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He spent the majority of his career with the Royals/Kings franchise. Lacey was selected as an all-star while playing for the Kings in 1975, and eventually had his number 44 retired by them.

College career

Lacey was a

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

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

. The Aggies had a combined record of 74–14 during his three seasons there. In the 1969–70 post-season, he and star guard

Jimmy Collins James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball. Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945. Collins was especially regarded fo ...

led the Aggies to their first and only Final Four appearance. The Aggies defeated Rice University, Kansas State University and Drake University before falling to eventual national champion

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. However, the Aggies won the third-place game over St. Bonaventure to finish 27–3. Lacey earned first-team All-American honors from ''Basketball News''. In 2007–08, Lacey was among the first inductees into the Aggies Ring of Honor. As of 2014, Lacey still holds many New Mexico State rebounding records for both single seasons and career.

NBA career

Lacey was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) of the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

by the Cincinnati Royals. In total, he played 13 seasons (1970–1983) 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 St ...

as a member of the Royals, Kansas City Kings,

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged over 10 rebounds per game in his first six seasons, and was the NBA's third leading rebounder in the 1974–75 season. Lacey's most productive NBA season came in 1973–74 when he averaged 14.2 points and 13.4 rebounds per game. That year, on November 25, 1973, Lacey grabbed a career best 26 rebounds, along with scoring 20 points and recording 6 assists, in a 104-99 loss to 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 ...

. He was named an All-Star in 1975, and finished the season averaging 11.5 points, 14.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. That season, on February 5, 1975, Lacey recorded a career high 8 steals during a 90-82 win over 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 ...

. During the 1981 NBA Playoffs, Lacey was the team leader and played a key role in the 40-42 five seed Kings making to the Western Conference Finals before being eliminated by Moses Malone and the Houston Rockets, averaging 10 points, 8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals, for a Kansas City team missing starting guards Phil Ford and

Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games. A guard who attended Wint ...

due to injuries for most of the playoffs. During the following season, Lacey was traded to the Nets for

Mike Woodson Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team. With coach Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, Woodson played collegiate ...

and a future first round draft pick. Lacey is one of only five NBA players (along with Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving,

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

and Ben Wallace) to have registered 100 blocks and 100 steals in six consecutive seasons. His jersey is

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Sacramento Kings. He is also one of three NBA players (along with Wes Unseld and Reggie Evans) to total at least 30 rebounds and fewer than 10 points in the first two games of the season. When Lacey retired in 1983, he had accumulated 9,687 rebounds and a total of 10,303 points. As of 2014, Lacey ranks 40th overall for total rebounds in NBA history.

Statistics

Regular season

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Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, 81 , , – , , 32.7 , , .418 , , – , , .687 , , 11.3 , , 1.4 , , – , , – , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , – , , 35.0 , , .422 , , – , , .704 , , 12.0 , , 2.1 , , – , , – , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City–Omaha , 79 , , – , , 37.1 , , .474 , , – , , .708 , , 11.8 , , 2.4 , , – , , – , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City–Omaha , 79 , , – , , 39.3 , , .476 , , – , , .749 , , 13.4 , , 3.8 , , 1.6 , , 2.3 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City–Omaha , 81 , , – , , 41.7 , , .427 , , – , , .754 , , 14.2 , , 5.3 , , 1.7 , , 2.1 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 81 , , – , , 38.1 , , .401 , , – , , .759 , , 12.6 , , 4.7 , , 1.6 , , 1.7 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 82 , , – , , 31.6 , , .422 , , – , , .762 , , 9.0 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , 1.6 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 77 , , – , , 27.7 , , .449 , , – , , .717 , , 8.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 82 , , – , , 32.0 , , .502 , , – , , .739 , , 8.6 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , 1.7 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 81 , , – , , 29.8 , , .448 , , .000 , , .741 , , 8.0 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 82 , , – , , 27.2 , , .442 , , .200 , , .786 , , 7.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 2 , , 1 , , 10.0 , , .600 , , – , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 60 , , 33 , , 20.5 , , .420 , , .222 , , .784 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .4 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,002 , , 40 , , 31.8 , , .441 , , .188 , , .738 , , 9.7 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 10.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 17.0 , , .333 , , – , , 1.000 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1975 , style="text-align:left;”, Kansas City–Omaha , 6, , –, , 44.0, , .377, , –, , .611, , 15.7, , 5.0, , 2.0, , 1.5, , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Kansas City , 5, , –, , 35.2, , .381, , –, , .789, , 10.2, , 4.2, , 1.8, , 2.0, , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1980 , style="text-align:left;”, Kansas City , 3, , –, , 33.7, , .381, , 1.000, , .750, , 7.3, , 4.3, , 2.3, , .7, , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Kansas City , 15, , –, , 35.5, , .420, , .000, , .857, , 8.0, , 5.3, , 1.9, , 1.5, , 10.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , – , , 37.0 , , .401 , , .250 , , .776 , , 9.9 , , 5.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.5 , , 9.4

Death

Lacey died in his home in Kansas City, Missouri on March 14, 2014, six days after his 66th birthday.

References

External links

*
Career stats
a
basketball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Sam 1948 births 2014 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Cleveland Cavaliers players Kansas City Kings players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players with retired numbers New Jersey Nets players New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players People from Indianola, Mississippi