Larry Steele

Larry Steele
	Steele in 1976
Personal information
Born	May 5, 1949 (age 75); Greencastle, Indiana, U.S.
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Bainbridge (Bainbridge, Indiana)
College	Kentucky (1968–1971)
NBA draft	1971: 3rd round, 37th overall pick
	Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1971–1980
Position	Guard
Number	15
Career history
As player:
1971–1980	Portland Trail Blazers
As coach:
1987–1994	University of Portland
Career highlights and awards
	As player: NBA champion (1977); NBA steals leader (1974); No. 15 retired by Portland Trail Blazers;
Career statistics
Points	5,009 (8.2 ppg)
Rebounds	1,781 (2.9 rpg)
Assists	1,719 (2.8 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Larry Nelson Steele (born May 5, 1949) is a former professional basketball player, best known for being on the Portland Trail Blazers team that won the 1977 NBA Finals.

Early life

Born in Greencastle, Indiana, Steele grew up in Bainbridge, Indiana, and played collegiately at the University of Kentucky under coach Adolph Rupp. As a junior at Bainbridge High School, he had a high game of 46 points and 38 points as a high game during senior year. He scored a total of 1,646 high school points. His senior year he was selected All-County, All-Sectional, All-Regional, All- Semi-State, Indianapolis News 1st Team All-State, and a member of the Indiana All-Star Team. In 2003, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.^[1]

College career

At the University of Kentucky, he was a three-year starter, averaging 13.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He was selected 1st Team All-SEC twice, Co-captain, MVP, Leadership Award, Hustle Award, led the UK team in assists and free throws. In 2003, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.^[2] As a junior in 1970, Steele earned 3rd team UPI/Coaches All-SEC honors and in 1971 as a senior 2nd team AP and 3rd team UPI/Coaches All-SEC honors.^[3]

NBA playing career

Portland Trail Blazers

He was drafted by the Trail Blazers in 1971, with the 2nd pick in the 3rd round (37th overall) and by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1971 American Basketball Association draft. In 1974 he was drafted again by the Kentucky Colonels in the 5th round of the ABA draft of NBA players.^[4] He joined the Trail Blazers at the start of the Blazers' second season and became a roster mainstay for nine years before knee injuries forced him into retirement at the end of the 1979–80 season.^[5]

Steele played his entire NBA career for the team (retiring from basketball at the end of the 1979–80 season). Steele led the NBA in steals in the 1973–74 NBA season—the first year steals were recorded by the league with 2.68 swipes per game. He played 20.7 MPG on the 1977 championship team (starting nine games) averaging a career high 10.3 points per game. During his nine-year NBA career, all with the Trail Blazers, he averaged 8.2 points, 2.9 assists, 1.39 steals and 24.2 minutes while starting 337 games. The Trail Blazers retired his jersey (15) on October 11, 1981.

Personal life

After his playing days, he worked in the Blazers front office in marketing and served as a commentator with broadcaster Bill Schonely.^[6] Steele later worked as a broadcaster for the NBA on CBS and as a head coach at the University of Portland from 1987 to 1994. He currently runs a basketball camp in Vernonia, Oregon.^[7]

NBA 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
†	Won an NBA championship	*	Led the league

Regular season


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1971–72	Portland	72	-	18.2	.481	-	.722	3.9	2.2	-	-	5.1
1972–73	Portland	66	-	19.7	.483	-	.798	2.3	2.4	-	-	5.9
1973–74	Portland	81	-	32.7	.478	-	.789	3.8	4.0	2.7*	0.4	9.7
1974–75	Portland	76	-	31.4	.548	-	.836	3.0	3.8	2.4	0.2	8.6
1975–76	Portland	81	-	29.4	.495	-	.759	3.6	4.0	2.1	0.2	9.9
1976–77†	Portland	81	-	20.7	.500	-	.806	2.3	2.1	1.5	0.2	10.3
1977–78	Portland	65	-	17.4	.470	-	.820	1.7	1.3	0.9	0.1	8.0
1978–79	Portland	72	-	20.7	.420	-	.824	2.4	2.0	1.0	0.1	7.2
1979–80	Portland	16	-	27.9	.425	-	.815	2.8	4.2	1.6	0.1	9.1
Career		610	-	24.2	.483	-	.796	2.9	2.8	1.8	0.2	8.2

Playoffs


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977†	Portland	18	-	14.5	.371	-	.750	1.5	1.0	0.5	0.0	4.2
1978	Portland	6	-	31.8	.417	-	.905	4.3	2.3	1.2	0.3	11.5
1979	Portland	3	-	24.3	.571	-	.889	3.7	2.3	3.3	0.0	13.3
Career		27	-	19.4	.424	-	.823	2.4	1.4	1.0	0.1	6.9

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing
Portland (West Coast Conference) (1987–1993)
1987–88	Portland	6-22	1-13	8th
1988–89	Portland	2-26	2-12	T-7th
1989–90	Portland	11-17	7-7	4th
1990–91	Portland	5-23	3-11	8th
1991–92	Portland	10-18	3-11	8th
1992–93	Portland	9-18	3-11	7th
1993–94	Portland	13-17	6-8	T-5th
Portland:		56-141	25-73
Total:		56-141
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

References

^ Hall of Fame hoopshall.com ^{[dead link‍]}
^ Retrieved 11-19-10 Archived November 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ Retrieved 11-20-10 Archived March 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ Retrieved 11-20-10 Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Jason Quick | The (December 25, 2009). "Blazers Top 40: No. 27 Larry Steele". oregonlive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Retrieved 11-18-10". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
^ Arnold, Geoffrey; Uthman, Daniel (June 4, 2007). "The 1976-77 NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers: 30 years later". OregonLive.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2007.

External links

Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
Profile at Portland Trail Blazers website
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
UK bio
Larry Steele Basketball Camp Archived July 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

[1] Hall of Fame hoopshall.com ^{[dead link‍]}

[2] Retrieved 11-19-10 Archived November 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

[3] Retrieved 11-20-10 Archived March 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

[4] Retrieved 11-20-10 Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[5] Oregonian/OregonLive, Jason Quick | The (December 25, 2009). "Blazers Top 40: No. 27 Larry Steele". oregonlive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[nba.com-6] "Retrieved 11-18-10". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2007.

[blazers30years-7] Arnold, Geoffrey; Uthman, Daniel (June 4, 2007). "The 1976-77 NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers: 30 years later". OregonLive.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2007.

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