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Lonnie Shelton

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This article is about the American basketball player. For the American serial rapist, see Ronnie Shelton.

Lonnie Shelton
Personal information
Born(1955-10-19)October 19, 1955
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 8, 2018(2018-07-08) (aged 62)
Westminster, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolFoothill (Bakersfield, California)
CollegeOregon State (1973–1976)
NBA draft1976: 2nd round, 25th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1976–1986
PositionPower forward / center
Number8
Career history
1976–1978New York Knicks
1978–1983Seattle SuperSonics
1983–1986Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points8,049 (12.0 ppg)
Rebounds4,136 (6.1 rpg)
Assists1,459 (2.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Lonnie Jewel Shelton (October 19, 1955 – July 8, 2018) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played from 1976 to 1985.

Early years

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Shelton played college basketball for Oregon State University. He was drafted by the Memphis Sounds (soon to become the Baltimore Claws) of the American Basketball Association in 1975 but elected to stay in college. He was then selected by the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1976 NBA draft.

Professional career

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Shelton led the NBA in personal fouls in his first two seasons with New York. On December 16, 1977, Shelton scored a career-high 41 points during a 152–150 triple overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[1] After the Knicks obtained free agent Marvin Webster from the SuperSonics in 1978, the NBA awarded Shelton and the Knicks’ 1979 first-round pick to Seattle as compensation.[2]

In 1979, his first season with the SuperSonics, Shelton was the team's starting power forward. That season, he set a SuperSonics record by going 13 for 13 from the field in a game (17 total consecutive field goals), and helped the SuperSonics win the NBA Finals. Shelton was one of three SuperSonics represented in the 1982 NBA All-Star Game (along with Jack Sikma and Gus Williams) and was named to the NBA's 1982 2nd All-Defense Team. Shelton played five seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics and finished his career playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers for three seasons.[2]

Personal life

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Shelton's sons include L. J.,[3][4][5] who played offensive tackle in the NFL, Tim Shelton, who played for the San Diego State Aztecs basketball team, Titus Shelton, who played for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs basketball team from 2005 to 2009, and Marlon, who played for the Washington Huskies from 1998 to 2003.[3] He had multiple grandchildren.

Death

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Shelton died on July 8, 2018, at age 62 in Westminster, California, of complications from a heart attack on May 5 which left him in a coma.[6]

NBA career statistics

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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
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1976–77 New York 82 - 25.7 .476 - .707 7.7 1.8 1.5 1.2 11.6
1977–78 New York 82 - 28.3 .514 - .736 7.1 2.4 1.3 1.4 14.9
1978–79† Seattle 76 - 28.4 .519 - .693 6.2 1.4 1.0 1.0 13.5
1979–80 Seattle 76 - 29.5 .530 .200 .763 7.7 1.9 1.2 1.0 13.6
1980–81 Seattle 14 - 31.4 .420 - .655 5.6 2.5 1.6 .2 13.0
1981–82 Seattle 81 81 32.9 .486 .000 .783 6.3 3.1 1.2 .5 14.9
1982–83 Seattle 82 79 31.4 .478 .167 .754 6.0 2.9 .9 .9 12.4
1983–84 Cleveland 79 78 26.6 .476 .200 .764 4.8 2.3 1.0 .7 10.8
1984–85 Cleveland 57 14 21.8 .435 .000 .662 4.7 1.7 .8 .3 6.4
1985–86 Cleveland 44 1 15.5 .489 .000 .875 3.3 1.4 .5 .1 4.5
Career 673 253 27.5 .492 .097 .738 6.1 2.2 1.1 .8 12.0
All-Star 1 1 20.0 1.000 - .500 9.0 1.0 1.0 .0 7.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1978 New York 6 - 25.2 .536 - .750 7.3 2.8 .3 .8 11.0
1979† Seattle 17 - 33.3 .483 - .692 8.4 2.0 1.1 1.1 12.9
1980 Seattle 15 - 31.3 .507 .000 .627 8.3 1.7 1.5 .8 12.0
1982 Seattle 8 - 33.3 .471 - .688 7.4 2.0 .6 .9 12.8
1983 Seattle 2 - 26.5 .174 .000 .400 10.5 2.5 .5 .0 5.0
1985 Cleveland 4 0 26.5 .559 - .800 5.5 1.0 .5 .3 11.5
Career 52 0 31.0 .485 .000 .667 7.9 1.9 1.0 .8 12.0

References

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  1. ^ "Bucks Beat Knicks in 3 Overtimes (Published 1977)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Condotta, Bob (July 9, 2018), "Lonnie Shelton, starter for Sonics' 1979 NBA title team, dies at age 62", The Seattle Times
  3. ^ a b SONICS: Lonnie Shelton: Unfair Compensation. National Basketball Association
  4. ^ SONICS: Sonics History Top Ten: Sonics Sons. National Basketball Association
  5. ^ Dan Raley (February 12, 2003) "Body art covers eight Huskies". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  6. ^ "Lonnie Shelton, a key player for the Seattle SuperSonics' championship team and NBA All-Star, dead at 62". July 9, 2018.
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