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Stu Lantz

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Stu Lantz
Lantz in 1969
Personal information
Born (1946-07-13) July 13, 1946 (age 78)
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolUniontown (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)
CollegeNebraska (1965–1968)
NBA draft1968: 3rd round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the San Diego Rockets
Playing career1968–1977
PositionShooting guard / point guard
Number22, 23
Career history
1968–1972San Diego / Houston Rockets
1972–1974Detroit Pistons
1974New Orleans Jazz
1974–1977Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points6,782 (12.4 ppg)
Rebounds1,820 (3.3 rpg)
Assists1,566 (2.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Stuart Burrell Lantz (born July 13, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Spectrum SportsNet. He played college basketball at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Early years

Lantz attended Uniontown Area High School. He accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In the 1966–67 season, he contributed to the school having its first 20-win season (20–5), it first NIT Tournament bid and earning a second-place finish in the Big Eight Conference.[1]

Lantz became the school's first two-time All-Big Eight selection. He led the Cornhuskers in scoring and rebounding in both the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons. He finished his college career with a 16.9 points, 48.5 percent shooting and 7.6 rebound average.

In 1989, Lantz' number 22 jersey was the second retired by the school. In 2001, he was inducted into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Lantz played in the National Basketball Association from 1968 until 1976. He was selected by the San Diego Rockets in the third round (1st pick, 23rd overall) of the 1968 NBA draft and by the Oakland Oaks in the 1968 ABA Draft.[2]

In the 1970–71 season, Lantz averaged 20.6 points and 5 rebounds per game for the San Diego Rockets.

In the 1976–77 season, he injured his back during a training camp scrimmage and never fully recovered during the year. On July 2, 1977, Lantz announced his retirement at 30 years old (a week and a half before his 31st birthday) because of the injury.

Broadcast career

Lantz has been the Lakers' color commentator since 1987, sharing the microphone with Chick Hearn, Paul Sunderland, Joel Meyers and now Bill Macdonald on Spectrum SportsNet. Lantz has been named by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association as the best television color commentator on seven occasions. In 2018, he was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame.[3] On February 27, 2022, before a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers commemorated Lantz's 35 years broadcasting for the team with a pregame video tribute that featured celebratory messages from Pat Riley, Walt Frazier, Derek Fisher, and Shaquille O'Neal, among other basketball contemporaries.[4]

In 2023, Lantz was named recipient of the 75th Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award by the Television Academy, recognizing his “long career in broadcasting, professionalism, and immense popularity.”[5]

The announcement was televised in a surprise fashion in the Spectrum SportsNet studio with his colleagues and Lakers executives, including Jeanie Buss.[6]

He joins other Southern California sports icons Bob Miller, Chick Hearn, Vin Scully, and Kobe Bryant as Governor's Award recipients.[5]

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
 *  Led the league

NBA

Source[7]

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1968–69 San Diego 73 18.9 .456 .772 3.2 1.4 7.8
1969–70 San Diego 82* 30.1 .443 .770 3.1 3.5 14.5
1970–71 San Diego 82 37.8 .448 .806 5.0 4.2 20.6
1971–72 Houston 81 38.2 .435 .838 4.3 4.2 18.5
1972–73 Detroit 51 31.4 .407 .800 3.4 2.7 9.6
1973–74 Detroit 50 19.6 .427 .848 2.3 1.9 .8 .1 8.9
1974–75 New Orleans 19 18.6 .339 .887 1.3 1.6 .6 .1 6.6
1974–75 L.A. Lakers 56 25.5 .424 .824 3.0 2.8 .8 .2 9.3
1975–76 L.A. Lakers 53 16.1 .417 .899 1.9 1.4 .5 .1 4.7
Career 547 27.9 .435 .814 3.3 2.9 .7 .1 12.4

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1969 San Diego 6 34.7 .435 .778 3.5 1.7 13.5
1974 Detroit 7 32.4 .475 .875 4.1 2.0 .3 .0 12.0
Career 13 33.5 .453 .831 3.8 1.8 .3 .0 12.7

References

  1. ^ "Husker Fan: Lantz Belongs in All-Time Debate". Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  2. ^ Then & Now: Stu Lantz Archived 2008-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, huskerhoopscentral.com; accessed May 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lakers Broadcast Information". Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Burchardt, Damian (March 1, 2022). "Lakers Video: Long-Time Color Commentator Stu Lantz's 35-Year Career Celebrated". Lakers Nation. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Stu Lantz Named Recipient of Los Angeles Area Emmy® Governors Award". Lakers. June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  6. ^ @SpectrumSN (June 15, 2023). "Congratulations to Stu Lantz, the recipient of the 75th #LAEmmys Governors Award!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Stu Lantz NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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