Stuart Burrell Lantz (born July 13, 1946) is an American former professional

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 who is a television commentator 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) on

Spectrum SportsNet Spectrum Sports (abbreviated as SPECTSN), also known under the corporate names Spectrum Networks, or Charter Sports Regional Networks, is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned a ...

. He played

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 ...

at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

Early years

Lantz attended Uniontown Area High School. He accepted a basketball scholarship from the

. In the 1966–67 season, he contributed to the school having its first 20-win season (20-5), it first

NIT Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

bid and earning a second-place finish in the Big Eight Conference. He became the school's first two-time All-Big Eight selection. He led the Cornhuskers in scoring and rebounding in both the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons. He finished his college career with a 16.9 points, 48.5 percent shooting and 7.6 rebound average. In 1989, his number 22 jersey was the second retired by the school. In 2001, he was inducted into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Lantz played in the

from

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

until

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. He was selected by the

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

in the third round (1st pick, 23rd overall) of the 1968 NBA draft and by the Oakland Oaks in the 1968 ABA Draft. In the 1970-71 season, he averaged 20.6 points and 5 rebounds per game for the

. In the 1976–77 season, he injured his back during a training camp scrimmage and never fully recovered during the year. On July 2, 1977, he announced his retirement at 30 years old (a week and a half before his 31st birthday) because of the injury.

Broadcast career

Lantz has been the Lakers' color commentator since

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, sharing the microphone with

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid ...

Paul Sunderland Paul Benedict Sunderland (born March 29, 1952) is an American professional sportscaster who resides in Los Angeles, California. He worked as the indoor volleyball play-by-play announcer for NBC Olympics’ coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, ...

Joel Meyers Joel Meyers is an American sportscaster who is the play-by-play announcer of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also is the lead host of "Above the Rim", which airs weekdays from 10am-1pm ET on SiriusXM N ...

and now Bill Macdonald on

. Lantz has been named by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association as the best television color commentator on seven occasions. In 2018, he was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame. On February 27, 2022, before a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers commemorated Lantz's 35 years broadcasting for the team with a pregame video tribute that featured celebratory messages from

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's o ...

Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Fisher played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Los A ...

, and Shaquille O'Neal, among other basketball contemporaries.

References

External links

NBA player statistics
@ basketballreference.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lantz, Stu 1946 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Detroit Pistons players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers announcers Los Angeles Lakers players National Basketball Association broadcasters Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players New Orleans Jazz expansion draft picks New Orleans Jazz players Oakland Oaks draft picks People from Uniontown, Pennsylvania Point guards San Diego Clippers announcers San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players Shooting guards 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople