Every really good big man wants a body guard or an enforcer at Power Forward. This week we are going to look at 3 such enforcers…Maurice Lucas, Wes Unseld and Charles Oakley.
Bill Walton had Maurice Lucas as his body guard in Portland and trust me no one was messing with the Big Red Head while Lucas was on the floor with him. Ask Darryl Dawkins of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1977. With the 76ers comfortably ahead late in the game, the Blazers streaked down the floor on a fast break. Lionel Hollins missed the shot, both Bob Gross and Darryl Dawkins went up and wrestled for the rebound, and both came crashing to the floor. As Dawkins ran up court, he threw a punch that largely missed Gross, nailing his own teammate instead. As Dawkins reached mid-court, Lucas greeted him with an elbow to the head, after which they briefly squared off. Both benches emptied and Dawkins and Lucas were ejected.
Lucas career started in the ABA with the Spirits of St Louis and then to Kentucky with the Colonels before going to Portland in the ABA- NBA dispersal draft.
Lucas remained with Portland until 1980 when he was traded to the New Jersey Nets.
Lucas next moved through several different teams in several years, playing for the New York Knicks, the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers, helping the Lakers to the Western Conference championship series in the 1986 NBA Playoffs in his only year with that team. Next, Lucas moved to the Seattle SuperSonics for one year, before returning to the Trail Blazers for his final NBA season in 1988.
In his fourteen-year professional basketball career – two in the ABA and 12 in the NBA – Lucas scored 14,857 points and gathered 9,306 rebounds. He was a five-time All-Star – one in the ABA and four in the NBA. He was named to the 1978 All-NBA-Defense First team, the 1978 All-NBA Second team and the 1979 All-NBA-Defense Second team.
Smallthoughts : Old School Tuesday salutes Maurice Lucas.
| Career history | |
|---|---|
| 1974–1975 | Spirits of St. Louis (ABA) |
| 1975–1976 | Kentucky Colonels (ABA) |
| 1976–1980 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1980–1981 | New Jersey Nets |
| 1981–1982 | New York Knicks |
| 1982–1985 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1985–1986 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1986–1987 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1987–1988 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career ABA and NBA statistics | |
| Points | 14,857 (14.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 9,306 (9.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,498 (2.4 apg) |
