NBA.com: Luc Longley Bio

When it comes to basketball, Lucien James "Luc" Longley is the biggest thing to emerge from Australia. A 7-2 center and native of Melbourne, he became the first Australian to play in the NBA when he entered the league with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1991. He was dealt to the Chicago Bulls in February, 1994, and helped the Bulls win NBA titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998 before being traded to the Phoenix Suns prior to the 1998-99 season. Longley attended the University of New Mexico, where he averaged 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in four seasons. As a senior, he led the Lobos in scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.2 rpg) while pacing the Western Athletic Conference in field-goal percentage at .656. He was taken by Minnesota with the seventh overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. A holdout early in the campaign, he didn't appear in his first game for the Timberwolves until November 30 and put up modest numbers as a rookie, averaging 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 66 games. In the summer of 1992 he played for the Australian Olympic basketball team, having also appeared in the 1988 Olympics for Australia. He showed some improvement with the Timberwolves in 1992-93 and opened the 1993-94 campaign with Minnesota but was swapped to the Chicago Bulls in February for Stacey King. For the season, Longley appeared in 76 games and averaged 6.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per outing. He saw his first playoff action with Chicago, helping the Bulls to the conference semifinals. Longley missed almost seven weeks of the 1994-95 season with a stress fracture to his left leg but put up numbers similar to the previous season. He continued to improve and did a creditable job as the Bulls' starting center in 1995-96 as they won a record 72 games and the NBA Championship, and in 1996-97 when they came back to win 69 games and another title. He scored a career-high 11.4 ppg as the Bulls won their third championship in a row in 1997-98. After the historic three-peat, the Bulls moved into rebuilding mode and traded Longley to the Phoenix Suns for Mark Bryant, Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells and a conditional first-round draft pick on January 23, 1999. Longley started 39 games for the Suns in 1998-99, missing 11 games due to injuries to his left ankle, knee and hip. He averaged 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and shot a career-high .483 from the field.

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON
Posted 17 points and 7 rebounds in a 99-96 loss to Utah on 3/10 Scored a game-high 20 points in a 94-76 win over Vancouver on 2/8 Totaled 15 points (6-9 FG) and 6 rebounds in a 95-92 win in Vancouver on 1/12 Tallied 12 points and 9 rebounds in a 92-90 loss to Portland on 12/5

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Posted team-highs of 17 points (5-9 FG, 7-8 FT) and 10 rebounds, and added 3 assists, in a 100-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on 5/5 Registered 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a 93-78 victory over the Golden State Warriors on 3/31 Recorded team-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds against the New York Knicks on 3/26 Totaled 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-2 FT) and a team-high 11 rebounds in a 106-101 victory over the L.A. Lakers on 3/24 Posted 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, for his first double-double with the Suns, against the Houston Rockets on 3/20 Made his Suns debut, registering 12 points and 8 rebounds, in a 101-92 victory over the L.A. Clippers on 2/5

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Placed on the injured list on 4/9 due to a bone bruise in his left knee Posted 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, in his first game back from injury, in a 104-87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on 3/29 On the injured list from 3/17 to 3/29, missing 13 games, due to a sprained left knee Recorded 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123-86 victory over the Toronto Raptors on 2/19 Totaled 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 93-86 win over the Toronto Raptors on 2/10 Registered 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a 96-86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/16 Posted 11 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in a 90-89 victory over the New York Knicks on 1/9 Recorded career-highs of 24 points (9-12 FG) and 8 assists and grabbed 9 rebounds in a 114-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on 1/2 Totaled 23 points (10-13 FG), 10 rebounds and 3 assists in a 104-83 victory over the L.A. Lakers on 12/17 Scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 111-102 double-overtime win over the L.A. Clippers on 11/21 Registered 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists against the Washington Wizards on 11/12 Posted 17 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocked shots in an 87-83 double-overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on 11/3

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Longley started 59 games for the Bulls, averaging 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a team-high 1.12 blocked shots in 24.9 minutes per game. Longley missed much of the first half of the season, sitting out one game because of tendinitis in his right knee, then missing 22 games because of a separated left shoulder. But he played well late in the season, scoring a season-high 17 points in a 111-101 win over New Jersey on March 29 and getting a double-double of 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds in a 103-88 win over New Jersey on March 22. He also had a season-high six blocks in a 111-69 rout of San Antonio on March 5. He started all 19 of Chicago's playoff games, averaging 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game, shooting a solid .548 from the field. He registered 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, with six rebounds and six blocks, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami, and twice scored in double figures in the NBA Finals against Utah.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Longley was a valuable piece of the Bulls' championship puzzle, starting 62 games and getting the bulk of the playing time at center for Chicago in the role occupied by Bill Cartwright during the team's earlier championship seasons. Though the Bulls used a center by committee formula, with Bill Wennington, James Edwards and John Salley getting time in the middle and coach Phil Jackson electing to occasionally go without a true center on the floor for brief periods, Longley's size and skills were important to the team's long-range success as he proved himself a capable scorer and all-around player. He was on the injured list twice during the second half of the season, once due to a sprained ligament in his left knee and one due to tendinitis in both knees, and underwent surgery to repair ankle damage after the playoffs. As a result of that surgery he was unable to compete for his country, Australia, in the Atlanta Olympics. Longley averaged a career-high 9.1 points per game, fourth-highest on the Bulls, shooting .482 from the field and .777 from the foul line. He also contributed 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and a team-high 1.35 blocked shots in 26.5 minutes per game, with season highs of 21 points at Seattle on Nov. 26, 11 rebounds at San Antonio on Nov. 22 and seven blocks against Milwaukee on March 5. Longley started all 18 playoff games for the Bulls, averaging 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game. He played well in the Finals against Seattle, contributing 11.7 points per game including a career playoff-high 19 points in Game 3 on June 9.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
The No. 2 center for the Chicago Bulls behind Will Perdue during the regular season, Longley gave the Bulls 18.2 minutes per game and averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. He struck for a season-high 14 points on four different occasions, the last being an April 12 game against the Detroit Pistons in which he also grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds. Longley appeared in 55 games for the Bulls during the regular season, all off the bench. He spent much of the first two months on the shelf after suffering a stress fracture to his left ankle that forced him onto the injured list from November 9 to December 30. The Bulls finished third in the Central Division after posting a 47-35 record. In the playoffs, they ousted the Charlotte Hornets in the first round before falling to the Orlando Magic in six games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Longley, who didn t start a game during the regular season, got the nod in 8 of the team s 10 postseason contests, including all 6 games against Shaquille O Neal and the Magic. He scored 14 points in Game 1 against the Hornets. All told, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per contest during the playoffs.

1993-1994 REGULAR SEASON
When the Chicago Bulls acquired Longley from the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 23 in exchange for Stacey King, they had no idea that the deal would turn out so well. After playing in 49 games with Minnesota and averaging 6.6 points and 6.0 rebounds for a team that clearly would not contend for a championship, Longley packed his bags for the Windy City. There he served as a more than capable reserve who ably spelled Bill Cartwright and Horace Grant when needed. Longley saw more meaningful playing time in a back-up role with the Bulls. In 27 games, he averaged 7.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per contest, and he scored a season-high 16 points twice in 1993-94. Before the trade, he enjoyed the best rebounding outing of his career, grabbing 19 boards versus the Houston Rockets on December 30. In the postseason Longley ranked as the team s sixth leading scorer, averaging 6.3 points in 10 contests. He also pulled down 4.5 rebounds per game, making valuable contributions against both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.

1992-1993 REGULAR SEASON
Longley started 25 times in 55 appearances before landing on the injured list for the rest of the season on March 24. He sustained a sprained right foot against the Denver Nuggets on March 16 and missed the Timberwolves final 22 games. When healthy, Longley shot .490 from the field as a starter but only .423 coming off the bench. He contributed 5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the year and led Minnesota in blocked shots with 1.40 per game. The second-year center scored in double figures 12 times, including a 19-point, 10-rebound effort against the Boston Celtics on December 15. He also had a team-high 16 points with 9 rebounds against the Suns at Phoenix on February 3.

1991-1992 REGULAR SEASON
The Minnesota Timberwolves were in desperate need of a center, so they grabbed 7-foot-2 Luc Longley out of New Mexico with the seventh overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. As a college senior, Longley had topped the Lobos in scoring (19.1 ppg), rebounding (9.2 rpg), and blocked shots (95), becoming the first New Mexico player since Michael Cooper to make the All-Western Athletic Conference First Team in consecutive seasons. Longley came to New Mexico from Australia, where he was born and raised. He supplemented his college career with appearances for the Australian national team at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympic Games. When Longley made his first appearance for the Timberwolves on November 30, he became the first Australian ever to play in the NBA. He appeared in 66 games during the season, mostly as a backup to starting center Felton Spencer. After a slow beginning .352 field-goal shooting in the first two months Longley shot .519 from the floor in the final 38 games. He finished the year with averages of 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, with a high of 20 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 20.