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
| 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
- ^ "Al Tucker Stats".
- ^ Andrieson, David (October 13, 2007), "Sonics ushered Seattle into the big time 40 years ago Saturday", The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- ^ 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.
- ^ "OBU Legend al Tucker Dies | Oklahoma Baptist University".
- ^ "Al Tucker NBA & ABA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
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