Alton Lavelle Lister (born October 1, 1958) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He is currently serving as an assistant coach for

TNT Tropang Giga The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fra ...

in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

and the

Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The Ateneo collegiate ...

in the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univ ...

. Lister graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School (in the Lakewood section of Dallas) in 1976, where he led the Wildcats to many victories and was an All-American and All-State team member. He was inducted into Woodrow's Hall of Fame in 1990.

College

The 7' 0" Lister played at San Jacinto Junior College, where he was a teammate of future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

journeyman

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

Oliver Mack. He led the Dragons in rebounding and received All-American honors. He later transferred to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

, becoming teammates with future NBA player

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a role player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during the ...

. Lister's senior season averages of 15.4 points and 9.7 rebounds contributed to the Sun Devils having a school record of 16–2 in the Pac-10 and 24–4 overall and being ranked fifth in the nation for the 1980–1981 season. The season, capped with a win over the top-ranked then-undefeated Oregon State, had Lister earn honorable mention All-America honors by the Associated Press and Street & Smith's, All-Pac-10 honors, and his team's Most Improved Player award. A two-year starter in his three years with Arizona State, Lister was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame in 2000 after a career that saw him average 8.2 rebounds and post 148 career blocks. Lister as a member of the 1980 USA Olympic basketball team was the second Sun Devil to be selected for the United States Olympic team. However, he was unable to participate due to the United States Olympic Committee's decision to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games on the orders of President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. He did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes.

Professional

Lister was selected by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the first round (21st overall) of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 NBA season, 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the NBA ...

. He would consider

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. He played center (basketball), center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). L ...

his mentor during his time with the Bucks, where he averaged around 8.1 ppg, 7 rpg and 1.8 bpg while only playing 24 minutes a night in his five-year stint with the Bucks. In the 1982–83 season, Lister received 5 points in the NBA MVP voting even though he only averaged 8.4 points and 7.1 rebounds and started in 37 games. Each of the five seasons he played in Milwaukee ended with them winning the Central Division, though they did not reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

during his tenure. After the 1986 season he was dealt to Seattle for

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 draf ...

. His best year as a professional came during the 1986–87 season as a member of the SuperSonics, appearing in 75 games and averaging 11.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 2.4 bpg. After three seasons with the Sonics, he was traded straight up to the Warriors for their first-round pick. Lister would go on to play another four years with Golden State, though playing sparingly in due to injuries. He was waived by the Warriors in March 1993 and went on to sign with Milwaukee. After one more season with the Bucks, the then 37-year-old Lister went to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, as part of the

Todd Day Todd Fitzgerald Day (born January 7, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Day is the all-time leading scorer at the University of Arkansas, and pla ...

for

Sherman Douglas Sherman Douglas (born September 15, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player from Syracuse University who played for the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers from 1989 to 2 ...

trade. He spent two seasons in Boston on a $800,000 total salary averaging 1.9 ppg. Lister finished his career with seven games for 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 Northwest Division (N ...

. In his NBA career, Lister played in 953 games (incidentally, the second most games ever for a player with jersey #53, behind

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore Sr. (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Ba ...

) and scored a total of 6,298 points. He wore jersey #53 his entire career, and was best known as a solid rebounder and shot blocker.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 80 , , 23 , , 14.8 , , .519 , , .000 , , .520 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 1.5 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 37 , , 23.6 , , .529 , , .000 , , .537 , , 7.1 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 2.2 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 72 , , 23.8 , , .500 , , .000 , , .626 , , 7.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 1.7 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 80 , , 25.8 , , .538 , , .000 , , .588 , , 8.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 2.1 , , 9.9 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 19 , , 22.4 , , .551 , , .000 , , .602 , , 7.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 1.8 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 75 , , 75 , , 30.5 , , .504 , , .000 , , .675 , , 9.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.4 , , 2.4 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 55 , , 22.1 , , .504 , , .500 , , .606 , , 7.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.7 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 82 , , 22.0 , , .499 , , .000 , , .646 , , 6.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 2.2 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .500 , , .000 , , .571 , , 2.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Golden State , 77 , , 65 , , 20.2 , , .478 , , .000 , , .569 , , 6.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 1.2 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Golden State , 26 , , 12 , , 11.3 , , .557 , , .000 , , .424 , , 3.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.6 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" , Golden State , 20 , , 9 , , 8.7 , , .452 , , .000 , , .538 , , 2.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 60 , , 32 , , 12.9 , , .493 , , .000 , , .500 , , 3.9 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 7 , , 5 , , 12.6 , , .444 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 4.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 57 , , 14 , , 11.4 , , .490 , , .000 , , .629 , , 4.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.7 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 53 , , 2 , , 9.7 , , .416 , , .000 , , .742 , , 3.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 1.6 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .375 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 953 , , 582 , , 19.9 , , .512 , , .111 , , .597 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.5 , , 6.6

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , - , , 18.7 , , .583 , , .000 , , .714 , , 4.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 2.5 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , - , , 22.9 , , .429 , , .000 , , .800 , , 6.8 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , - , , 23.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .625 , , 6.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 1.5 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 25.4 , , .450 , , .000 , , .469 , , 7.8 , , 1.9 , , 0.8 , , 1.9 , , 8.6 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 1 , , 23.9 , , .641 , , .000 , , .603 , , 6.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 1.6 , , 11.9 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 7 , , 22.9 , , .400 , , .000 , , .700 , , 6.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.4 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 15.4 , , .706 , , .000 , , .800 , , 5.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 20.0 , , .436 , , .000 , , .846 , , 4.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.6 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Golden State , 6 , , 5 , , 12.0 , , .480 , , .000 , , .400 , , 4.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.2 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Golden State , 4 , , 3 , , 11.8 , , .400 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 87 , , 37 , , 20.7 , , .505 , , .000 , , .640 , , 5.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 1.6 , , 7.1

Coach

In 2000, Lister became head coach of at

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the Unite ...

. From a 9–21 season before his arrival, Lister had five consecutive seasons of 20 or more wins. In the seven years Lister served as coach, 30 players went on to play for NCAA Division I schools. While coaching at Mesa, Lister spent six summers at

Pete Newell Peter Francis Newell (August 31, 1915 – November 17, 2008) was an American college men's basketball coach and basketball instructional coach. He coached for 15 years at the University of San Francisco, Michigan State University, and the Unive ...

's Big Man's Camp. The

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

were impressed with Lister's work at the Newell's camps, thus paving the way for

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he ...

's recruitment of Lister as assistant coach to

Mike Woodson Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player who is the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). With coach ...

in 2007. In November 2008, upon the recommendation of Paul Howard, he was hired as skills coach to the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

of the

(PBA).

Personal life

Lister lives in the Philippines with his daughter Avery, working as the skills coach of the

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of thre ...

. He has four children in the US, namely Alton Jr., Alexa, JRoss, and Amari. Although retired, Lister has coached aspiring basketball players in the San Diego, California area. On July 17, 2015, Lister was the keynote speaker at the California State Games in San Diego, CA, at Qualcomm Stadium. In January 2016, he joined Tropang TNT as an assistant coach. Lister's deceased brother

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, a 6'9", 225-pound center from Sam Houston State, was drafted by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in the third round of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

, but he never played in the NBA. He played as an import in the Philippines (in 1981 for the PBA's CDCP Road Builders in 7 games) and in Belgium for 13 years.

References

External links

* *
Stats at Basketballreference.com

Alton Lister Coachfile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lister, Alton 1958 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Dallas Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Congressional Gold Medal recipients Golden State Warriors players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players TNT Tropang 5G coaches Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards San Jacinto Central Ravens men's basketball players Seattle SuperSonics players Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball coaches Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) alumni