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Luke Walton

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Luke Walton
Walton with the Lakers
No. 4 – Cleveland Cavaliers
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1980-03-28) March 28, 1980 (age 44)
San Diego, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolUniversity
(San Diego, California)
CollegeArizona (1999–2003)
NBA draft2003: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2003–present
Career history
20032012Los Angeles Lakers
2012–presentCleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata 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

Walton in 2008.

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

Legend
  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

  1. ^ Tomasson, Chris (2010-06-15). "Bill Walton "I'm Back In The Game Of Life"". NBA.FanHouse.com. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  2. ^ Pastner Recommends Luke Walton For Tigers Hoops Assistant Coach Position
  3. ^ Walton to stay with Lakers after agreeing to 6-year, $30 million deal
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ SignOnSanDiego.com > Sports – Walton to make acting debut on 'Young and Restless'
  6. ^ Winton, Richard. (2008-12-19) Luke Walton's stalker pleads no contest, sentenced to probation The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-11-13.

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