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Perhaps, only diehard basketball fans will remember the name of the late Maurice Lucas and his exploits in the ABA and then the NBA. Lucas retired after the 1987-88 season after 14 years in the ABA/NBA.
Known by former teammates and opponents as “The Enforcer,” he died in 2010 after a long battle against bladder cancer. He was 58 years old when he passed away.
Maurice Lucas came into the NBA after his stint with the ABA. He went to the Portland Trail Blazers via the dispersal draft. In his first season with the Blazers, he averaged 20.2 points and 11.4 rebounds.
The lanky Bill Walton finally had a bruising power forward beside him to take the Blazers to glory. In the 1977 NBA Finals, Lucas put up 21.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks. Walton averaged 18.2 points, 15.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals and a staggering 3.4 blocks.
“The Big Red” won finals MVP, but Lucas was crucial to their success as well.
The duo could have won more if foot injuries not robbed Walton several years of his prime and mobility.
Maurice Lucas often carried the Blazers without Bill Walton. “Mo” was a three-time All-Star in three-and-a-half seasons in Portland.
From Portland, he played for the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, LA Lakers and Seattle SuperSonics. Amazingly enough, “The Enforcer” enjoyed a revival in his first season with the Suns. He made the All-Star team for the fifth and last timeafter averaging 16.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Lucas went full circle when he returned to the Blazers for the final season of his career in 1987. Fresh after his retirement, the team kept him as an assistant coach under Mike Schuler and Rick Adelman. He lasted only a year with the team.
In 2005, Maurice Lucas rejoined the team again as an assistant coach, this time to Nate McMillan. He was treated for bladder cancer in 2007 and seemed to be on his way to recovery in 2008.
Unfortunately, Lucas relapsed and eventually succumbed to the disease on October 31, 2010.
The Portland Trail Blazers retired Maurice Lucas’ No. 20 in 1988
On November 4, 1988, a few months after he announced his retirement from the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers retired Maurice Lucas’ No. 20.
Lucas had this to say during the ceremony:
"It was more of an emotional type of deal than I thought it'd be. When I first walked onto the floor (in 1976), I didn't have a wife and kids. Then I looked down tonight, as I was standing there, and saw the kids.
"Now I know … They'll know that their father played basketball at its highest level."
Also read: NBA: All-Time Starting 5 Of the Portland Trail Blazers
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