Ronnie Lester

Ronnie Lester
Personal information
Born (1959-01-01) January 1, 1959
Canton, Mississippi
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight 175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school Dunbar (Chicago, Illinois)
College Iowa (1976–1980)
NBA draft 1980 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career 1980–1986
Position Point guard
Number 12
Career history
1980–1984 Chicago Bulls
1985–1986 Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points 1,816 (7.3 ppg)
Rebounds 473 (1.9 rpg)
Assists 1,003 (4.0 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  United States
Men's basketball
Pan American Games
1979 San Juan Team competition

Ronnie Lester (born January 1, 1959) is an American retired basketball player and basketball executive. Lester was an NCAA All-American at the University of Iowa, leading Iowa to the 1980 NCAA Final Four. Lester was a member of the 1979 USA Basketball team that won the Gold Medal in the 1979 Pan-American Games. Lester was the #10 selection in the 1980 NBA Draft. After an injury filled career, that included winning an NBA title with the 1986 Los Angeles Lakers, Lester worked as a scout for the Lakers, and eventually became the team's Assistant General Manager. After leaving the Lakers, with six NBA titles in his tenure with the team, Lester was a scout for the Phoenix Suns from 2013 through the 2015 season.

High school career

Born in Mississippi, Lester grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated Dunbar Vocational High School in 1976. Lester started on the varsity team as a 5'6" sophomore. In between seasons he grew to 6'2". He averaged ten points and ten assists per game in his junior campaign. As a senior, Lester averaged twenty-seven (27) points per game, playing along side teammate and future NBA draft pick Ken Dancy.[1] The Dunbar "Mighty-Men" season came to an abrupt end by losing to Morgan Park with star player Levi Cobb. Lester was named to the All-City and All-State teams.

Collegiate and USA Basketball career

Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, then of the University of Iowa, was among the first to recognize Lester's talent and recruited him to Iowa, driving to Chicago on Friday nights to meet with Lester and his family. Lester chose to attend Iowa over the University of Arizona. [2]

At Iowa, Lester made an immediate impact, averaging 13.4 points as a freshman. Lester earned All-American honors in 1979, and First Team All-Big Ten honors in 1978 and 1979. He led the Iowa Hawkeyes to a share of the 1979 Big Ten title and to the Final Four of the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[3]

Lester represented the USA as a member of the 1979 USA Basketball team that went 9-0 and won the Gold medal in the Pan-American Games. Lester averaged double digits in the tournament, scoring 20 against the Virgin Islands and 14 against Cuba. The team was coached by Bobby Knight and assistant Mike Krzyzewski and included Isiah Thomas, Mike Woodson, Kevin McHale and Ralph Sampson as teammates. [4][5]


In his senior season at Iowa, Lester missed 15 Big Ten games due to a knee injury. At the time of his injury, Iowa was undefeated and ranked among the top ten teams in the nation. He returned to the Hawkeye lineup on March 1, 1980, for the final game of the regular season against the University of Illinois. With the consent of Illinois Head Coach Lou Henson, the Iowa Athletic Department delayed the game in order to hold a ceremony to retire Lester's jersey, and number (12). At that time, Lester already owned the Iowa records for scoring and assists. In addition to missing 15 games, Lester's assist record was all the more remarkable given that he shared playing time (and hence, ball touches) with two other players ranked among Iowa's top ten in career assists.

Nineteen regular season wins earned Iowa a five seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament (then, a 36 team field). In the four tournament wins that took Iowa to the Final Four, Lester dished out 26 assists while committing only seven turnovers. He scored Iowa's first ten points in the semi-final game against Louisville, but after eight minutes of play reinjured his knee and left the game. In Lester's absence, Louisville bested Iowa by eight points and went on to win the tournament. Not counting the Louisville game, the 1980 Iowa Hawkeyes were 15-1 with Lester, and 8-9 without him.

Even after the further success Lute Olson enjoyed at the University of Arizona (including four Final Four appearances, a National Championship, and players like Mike Bibby, Gilbert Arenas, and Jason Terry), Olson regards Lester as the best player he ever coached. Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who played two seasons at Michigan State University, once claimed Lester the toughest opponent he ever faced in the Big Ten.

Lester finished his Iowa career with 1675 points and 480 assists, hitting 47% from the field and 77% free throws.[6]

NBA career

Lester was the 10th pick in the first round of the 1980 NBA Draft, selected by the Portland Trail Blazers. He was immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he played four seasons. In 1985 and 1986 Lester was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, winning an NBA championship in the first of those two seasons. Of his six seasons as a player in the NBA, four were shortened by the recurring knee injury. In his best season (1982), he averaged 12 points, three rebounds, and five assists in 75 games for the Bulls (playing with Reggie Theus, Artis Gilmore, David Greenwood, Ricky Sobers and Orlando Woolridge).

executive basketball career

In the 1987-88 NBA season, Lester began working for the Lakers organization as a scout. He later served as the team's assistant general manager through the 2010-2011 season, after which his contract was not renewed.[7] As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers' front office, he won six NBA championships and 10 Western Conference championships.

On June 6, 2013, it was announced that Lester would become a scout for the Phoenix Suns.[8]

References

  1. ↑ www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-sun-times/20061222/282492884211822
  2. ↑ http://hawkeyesports.com/news/2015/9/26/How_Ronnie_Lester_Became_a_Hawkeye.aspx
  3. ↑ "How Ronnie Lester Became a Hawkeye". www.hawkeyesports.com. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
  4. ↑ http://archive.usab.com/mens/panamerican/mpag_1979.html
  5. ↑ http://archive.usab.com/mens/panamerican/mpag_1979.html
  6. ↑ http://hawkeyesports.com/news/2015/9/26/How_Ronnie_Lester_Became_a_Hawkeye.aspx
  7. ↑ "Ronnie Lester, one of the U. of Iowa's best basketball players ever, is losing his assistant GM job with the L.A. Lakers". The Gazette. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
  8. ↑ Suns Announce Basketball Operations Moves

After two years as a scout with the Phoenix Suns, Lester decided not to renew his contract. [1]

  • NBA stats @ basketballreference.com
  • - Des Moines Register Article 1994
  1. ↑ Ronnie Lester
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