Al Tucker

Al Tucker
Personal information
Born(1943-02-24)February 24, 1943
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMay 7, 2001(2001-05-07) (aged 58)
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolJefferson (Dayton, Ohio)
CollegeOklahoma Baptist (1964–1967)
NBA draft1967: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career1967–1972
PositionSmall forward
Number33, 23, 16, 35, 12
Career history
19671969Seattle SuperSonics
1969Cincinnati Royals
1969–1970Chicago Bulls
19701971Baltimore Bullets
19711972The Floridians
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points3,541 (10.1 ppg)
Rebounds1,740 (4.9 rpg)
Assists342 (1.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Albert Amos[1] Tucker Jr. (February 24, 1943 – May 7, 2001) was an American professional basketball player. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Tucker is sometimes credited with inventing the alley-oop with his brother Gerald while at Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Oklahoma.[2][3]

College records

With his brother Gerald, Al was recruited from Dayton to Oklahoma Baptist University, where he played three seasons. Although he played before the introduction of the 3-point shot, he set a number of records, some of which remain 50 years later. He had 27 rebounds in one game, 2,788 career points, 996 points in a season, 50 points in a game, a 31.1-point season scoring average, a 28.7-point career scoring average, 21 field goals in a game, 365 field goals in one season, 266 free throws in one season, 1,252 rebounds in a career, 467 rebounds in a season.[4]

Professional career

A 6'8" forward, Tucker played four seasons (1967–1971) in the National Basketball Association and one season (1971–1972) in the American Basketball Association as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics, Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Baltimore Bullets, and The Floridians. He averaged 10.1 points per game in his career and earned NBA All-Rookie Honors at the end of the 1967–68 NBA season. Tucker is notable as the Seattle SuperSonics' first ever NBA draft pick, selected sixth overall in the 1967 NBA draft. Tucker was also selected in the 1967 ABA Draft by the Oakland Oaks.

Personal

Tucker's father played for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1940.

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

NBA/ABA

Source[5]

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1967–68 Seattle 81 29.2 .442 .707 7.5 1.4 13.1
1968–69 Seattle 56 22.5 .432 .637 5.7 1.0 10.3
1968–69 Cincinnati 28 22.4 .475 .671 4.4 .7 10.8
1969–70 Chicago 33 16.9 .513 .822 3.4 .9 7.0
1969–70 Baltimore 28 9.4 .510 .786 1.9 .3 4.7
1970–71 Baltimore 31 8.9 .452 .806 2.4 .2 4.2
1970–71 Florida (ABA) 14 23.6 .443 .429 .810 4.6 .9 12.1
1971–72 Florida (ABA) 81 22.2 .465 .366 .789 4.8 1.2 11.6
Career (NBA) 257 20.8 .453 .702 5.0 .9 9.5
Career (ABA) 95 22.4 .462 .371 .793 4.8 1.2 11.7
Career (overall) 352 21.2 .456 .371 .727 4.9 1.0 10.1

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1970 Baltimore 4 1.3 1.000 .0 .0 1.0
1971 Florida (ABA) 6 27.5 .431 .167 .826 5.3 2.0 12.7
1972 Florida (ABA) 3 17.0 .250 .000 .000 4.7 1.3 3.3
Career (ABA) 9 24.0 .388 .143 .792 5.1 1.8 9.6
Career (overall) 13 17.0 .402 .143 .792 3.5 1.2 6.9

References

  1. ^ "Al Tucker Stats".
  2. ^ Andrieson, David (October 13, 2007), "Sonics ushered Seattle into the big time 40 years ago Saturday", The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  3. ^ Posnanski, Joe (April 6, 2008). "Get ready for alley-oop game between KU and Memphis". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  4. ^ "OBU Legend al Tucker Dies | Oklahoma Baptist University".
  5. ^ "Al Tucker NBA & ABA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 28, 2024.