YouTube Gold: Maurice Lucas Tribute

22.08.2024 13:00

DENVER, CO – APRIL 20: Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Lucas #20 gives the finger to a heckling fan during an NBA playoff game against the Denver Nuggets at McNichols Arena on April 20, 1977 in Denver, Colorado. The Trail Blazers lost the game but won the series and the next two rounds of the playoffs to claim the 1977 NBA championship. | Photo by Mark Junge/Getty Images

Lucas was a tough guy but a great teammate

The late Maurice Lucas played exactly like you’d expect a guy from Pittsburgh to play: hard as hell, and don’t cross him.

He played college ball for Al McGuire at Marquette and got to the title game in 1974 against NC State and David Thompson, but there was no way Marquette was winning that game.

He started professionally in the ABA and when the merger happened, his team, the St. Louis Spirit, was dissolved and he ended up with the Portland Trailblazers.

In Portland, he teamed up with Bill Walton and helped the Trailblazers win the 1977 NBA championship.

This video sums up a lot of his career highlights including his famous 1977 Finals Fight with Darryl Dawkins.

Walton admired him so much that he named his son Luke after Lucas, using his nickname.

Very sadly, Lucas passed away in 2010 from bladder cancer, but his legacy is secure. The guy was a wonderful basketball player and a superb teammate.

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