R.I.P., Maurice Lucas

Maurice Lucas passed away on Halloween from cancer. He was the odd combination of enforcer and scorer for the Blazers' 1977 Championship team, in his first year in the NBA. He joined the NBA in the ABA Dispersal Draft in 1976, which occurred after the ABA-NBA merger, and was how the NBA dealt with the two teams (Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis) that did not make it into the NBA but had not folded prior to the merger. Artis Gilmore was drafted first. His teammate, and prior adversary, Lucas, was drafted second by the Portland Trail Blazers (after Portland traded Geoff Petrie and Steve Hawes - yes, Spencer's uncle - to Atlanta). Lucas had cemented his reputation as an enforcer in the ABA:

"I covered the Kentucky Colonels for the Louisville Times and they're as much a part of my happiest days as my family. One memory that stands out: One night at Freedom Hall, Maurice Lucas of the Spirits got under Artis Gilmore's skin. Artis, normally the most gentle of giants, started trying to punch Lucas. Artis had superhuman strength, but he wasn't much of a boxer. His blows were almost slaps. Lucas, one of the league's most feared fighters, backpedaled the length of the court. When he got to the baseline, he planted his feet and hit Artis with a straight right to the jaw. Artis went down in sections. First his knees crumpled, then his waist folded, then his arms flailed and then his trunk and head found the floor. By then, teammates had broken up the fight. Those who knew Artis were shocked and saddened, not that Artis had lost a fight but that he had even been in one. His agent, Herb Rudoy, flew in from Chicago to soothe the big guy's psyche. You know the rest. The Big A got over it and Lucas eventually became a Colonel, too. " - George Rorrer

Jack Ramsay, Portland's coach, loved this about Lucas:

Luke had acquired a tough-guy reputation when he decked 7-foot-2 strongman Artis Gilmore with one punch in an ABA game before both became NBA players. I urged him to establish that same persona in the NBA. Luke loved the role. He had every Blazer's back. If an opposing player had a problem with any Blazer, he had to deal with Luke first.

He was especially protective of Bill Walton, whom he called "Big Red."

In Game 2 of the 1977 Finals, Lucas arguably turned the momentum in Portland's favor against an extraordinarily talented Sixers squad. The Sixers featured Joe Bryant (Kobe's dad), Julius Erving, Doug Collins (now the Sixers' coach), Mike Dunleavy (Mike Dunleavy, Jr.'s dad and eventual coach of the Blazers, and, ignominiously, the Clippers), Henry Bibby (Mike Bibby's dad), Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins, and World B. Free. The Blazers had just experienced their first winning season and were coming off a 4-0 sweep of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Sixers held home court advantage and beat the Blazers in Game 1, 107-101. Late in Game 2, Philadelphia held on to a comfortable lead when Dawkins and Bob Gross became entangled going for a rebound. They ended up on the floor. Both popped up ready to fight. Dawkins had a good five inches on Gross. Then, Lucas stepped in.


Lucas and Dawkins were ejected but Portland won the next four games en route to their only title after that little momentum swing.



The following year, Portland started out 50-10 until being crushed by injuries - and were particularly hurt by the loss of Bill Walton. Lucas missed some games as well. Eventually, during the 1979-1980 season, he was traded. Halberstam covers Luke's frustrations, charm, and loyalty from that season in "The Breaks of the Game."

The rest of Luke's career played out across the league with stops in Phoenix, Los Angeles (Lakers), and New York. He averaged, over 14 years, 14.6 points, 9.1 boards, and 2.4 assists - solid statistics, no doubt. But statistics fail to account for the intangibles, like his protection of teammates and their love of him. For that, one must look to anecdotes.

Marquette teammate Bo Ellis:

"One of the things I'll always remember, when he came back to town after he decided that he was going to go hardship [leaving college for pro ball], he came to me and he hugged me and he apologized to me," Ellis said. "He said, 'Slim, I'm sorry. I talked you into coming to Marquette because I said we were going to win a championship together, and I'm leaving.'"

And this:

"He was a prolific presence on court as far as being an enforcer, but off the court he was just like a big teddy bear," said Dave Delsman, who played three seasons with Lucas. "Luke was just a class guy. Quiet, but would talk to you about anything. He was great to everybody. I don't ever remember anybody ever having a bad thing to say about Maurice."

But there's no more telling testament to Maurice Lucas than that of Bill Walton naming his son Luke after his friend and teammate.