Luke Walton
No. 4 – Cleveland Cavaliers | |
---|---|
Position | Small forward |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | San Diego, California | March 28, 1980
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | University (San Diego, California) |
College | Arizona (1999–2003) |
NBA draft | 2003: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick |
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
Playing career | 2003–present |
Career history | |
2003–2012 | Los Angeles Lakers |
2012–present | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American semi-professional basketball player who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His primary position is at small forward. After the 2010 NBA Finals, Walton and his father, Hall of Famer Bill Walton, became the first father and son to both have won multiple NBA championships. Bill won in 1977 and 1986, and Luke in 2009 and 2010.[1]
Biography
Early life
Luke Walton is the son of former NBA and UCLA great Bill Walton, and was named after Bill's close friend and former Portland Trail Blazers teammate Maurice Lucas. He has three brothers — Adam, Nathan (who unsuccessfully ran for governor during the 2003 California recall), and Chris. He attended University of San Diego High School in San Diego, California.
College
After graduating from University of San Diego High School in 1998, Walton enrolled at the University of Arizona and majored in family studies and human development. There, he played for the Wildcats under coach Lute Olson. In his junior year, Walton averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. As a fifth-year senior, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.9 steals.
Walton graduated from Arizona at the end of 2003, and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2003 NBA Draft with the third pick of the second round (32nd overall). Walton stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds.
Coaching
On August 22, 2011, the University of Memphis announced they would hire Walton as an assistant coach until the 2011 NBA lockout ended.[2] Walton played at the University of Arizona where current Memphis head coach Josh Pastner was also a player/assistant.
NBA career
In 2006–07, Walton had a career year, with career high per game averages in minutes, field goal percentage, steals, blocks, rebounds, assists and points. His PER also reached a career high. He scored a career high 25 points against the Atlanta Hawks on December 8, 2006. Following the season, on July 12, 2007, Walton was signed by the Lakers to a 6-year, $30 million contract.[3]
On March 15, 2012, Walton was traded along with Jason Kapono and a 2012 first-round draft choice to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga.[4]
Personal
On his right arm, there is a tattoo of four Grateful Dead-type dancing skeletons, each one with a basketball; the skeletons represent Luke and his three brothers.
In 2006, Walton made a cameo appearance on the television soap opera The Young and the Restless.[5]
In December 2008, a woman named Stacy Elizabeth Beshear pleaded no contest to charges of stalking Walton. At one point, she pulled up to Walton's car and "pretended to fire gunshots at him with her hand." She was sentenced to three years' probation, told to attend weekly counseling sessions for a year and ordered to stay away for three years from Walton's home and from the Lakers' games and practices.[6]
Luke and his father became the third father-son duo to both win NBA championships as players. The first father-son duo were and Matt Guokas, Sr. and Matt Guokas; Matt Goukas, Sr. won with the 1947 NBA champion Philadelphia Warriors, and Matt Goukas Jr. won with the 1967 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers. This feat was repeated by Rick Barry (with the 1975 NBA champion Golden State Warriors) and Brent Barry (with the 2005 and 2007 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs).
NBA career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003–04 | L.A. Lakers | 72 | 2 | 10.1 | .425 | .333 | .705 | 1.8 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 2.4 |
2004–05 | L.A. Lakers | 61 | 5 | 12.6 | .411 | .262 | .708 | 2.3 | 1.5 | .4 | .2 | 3.2 |
2005–06 | L.A. Lakers | 69 | 6 | 19.3 | .412 | .327 | .750 | 3.6 | 2.3 | .6 | .2 | 5.0 |
2006–07 | L.A. Lakers | 60 | 60 | 33.0 | .474 | .387 | .745 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 1.0 | .3 | 11.4 |
2007–08 | L.A. Lakers | 74 | 31 | 23.4 | .450 | .333 | .706 | 3.9 | 2.9 | .8 | .2 | 7.2 |
2008–09 | L.A. Lakers | 65 | 34 | 17.9 | .436 | .298 | .719 | 2.8 | 2.7 | .5 | .2 | 5.0 |
2009–10 | L.A. Lakers | 29 | 0 | 9.4 | .357 | .412 | .500 | 1.3 | 1.4 | .3 | .0 | 2.4 |
2010–11 | L.A. Lakers | 54 | 0 | 9.0 | .328 | .235 | .700 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .2 | .1 | 1.7 |
2011–12 | L.A. Lakers | 9 | 0 | 7.2 | .429 | .000 | .000 | 1.6 | .6 | .2 | .0 | 1.3 |
2011–12 | Cleveland | 21 | 0 | 14.2 | .353 | .438 | .000 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .1 | .0 | 2.0 |
Career | 514 | 138 | 17.2 | .432 | .330 | .724 | 2.8 | 2.2 | .5 | .2 | 4.8 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | L.A. Lakers | 17 | 0 | 7.9 | .345 | .385 | .700 | 1.3 | 1.5 | .4 | .1 | 1.9 |
2006 | L.A. Lakers | 7 | 7 | 33.6 | .458 | .364 | 1.000 | 6.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .1 | 12.1 |
2007 | L.A. Lakers | 5 | 5 | 25.6 | .389 | .417 | .750 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | .2 | 7.2 |
2008 | L.A. Lakers | 21 | 0 | 15.8 | .427 | .313 | .611 | 2.5 | 2.1 | .7 | .1 | 3.8 |
2009 | L.A. Lakers | 21 | 0 | 16.8 | .454 | .423 | .722 | 2.6 | 2.0 | .5 | .2 | 6.0 |
2010 | L.A. Lakers | 16 | 0 | 6.0 | .304 | .222 | .500 | .5 | .9 | .1 | .1 | 1.1 |
2011 | L.A. Lakers | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 88 | 12 | 14.6 | .420 | .360 | .701 | 2.3 | 1.7 | .5 | .2 | 4.3 |
Notes
- ^ Tomasson, Chris (2010-06-15). "Bill Walton "I'm Back In The Game Of Life"". NBA.FanHouse.com. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Pastner Recommends Luke Walton For Tigers Hoops Assistant Coach Position
- ^ Walton to stay with Lakers after agreeing to 6-year, $30 million deal
- ^ "Cavaliers Acquire 2012 First Round Pick, Kapono, Walton and Right To Swap 2013 First Round Picks From Lakers". NBA.com. 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ SignOnSanDiego.com > Sports – Walton to make acting debut on 'Young and Restless'
- ^ Winton, Richard. (2008-12-19) Luke Walton's stalker pleads no contest, sentenced to probation The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Template:Basketball-reference
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players
- Basketball players at the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Final Four
- Basketball players from California
- Cleveland Cavaliers players
- Los Angeles Lakers draft picks
- Los Angeles Lakers players
- Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches
- Small forwards
- Sportspeople from San Diego, California