LeRoy Ellis

LeRoy Ellis
LeRoy Ellis
Born	10 March 1940 (age 86)
Died	2 June 2012 (aged 72)
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Known for	NBA player for Los Angeles Lakers, Baltimore Bullets, Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers; 1972 NBA champion

LeRoy Ellis (born March 10, 1940 – passed away June 2, 2012) was a professional American basketball athlete.

Basketball career

Standing 6 feet 11 inches tall, Ellis played as a center at St. John's University. During his collegiate tenure, he established school records for the highest seasonal rebounding average (16.5) and the most rebounds in a single contest (30). In his final collegiate year, Ellis earned the 1962 Haggerty Award, distinguishing him as the premier Division I men's college basketball player within the New York metropolitan region.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Ellis in the first round of the 1962 NBA draft, with the eighth overall pick. Over a span of 14 NBA seasons from 1962 to 1976, he appeared in 1,048 games representing the Lakers, Baltimore Bullets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Philadelphia 76ers. He contributed to the Lakers' 1971–72 championship team, which achieved a then-record 69 wins during the regular season and an unprecedented 33-game winning streak. The subsequent season saw Ellis join the 76ers, who endured a franchise-low of 73 losses. By the conclusion of his career in 1976, Ellis had accumulated totals of 10,176 points and 8,709 rebounds.

After being chosen by Portland in the 1970 expansion draft, Ellis became a starting player on the Trail Blazers' inaugural squad. He ranked as their third-leading scorer with an average of 15.9 points per game and led the team in rebounds at 12.3 per game—figures that placed him third in franchise history over its first thirty years. Following his retirement from professional basketball, Ellis remained engaged with the sport by competing in Senior Masters Games national championships held in Portland.

Personal life

During his active basketball career, Ellis and his family made their home in Portland, Oregon. Upon retiring from basketball, he transitioned into the tire business and relocated to Southern California where he managed a tire retail store located in Orange County. Ellis and his son, LeRon, later moved to Anaheim, California, before other family members joined them. Eventually, Ellis and his spouse returned to reside in Portland.

Three of Ellis' children pursued collegiate basketball: his daughter Lisa competed at both California State University, Long Beach and the University of Kentucky; his eldest son LeRoy Jr. played for the University of the Pacific and was part of the 1990 NCAA Division II National Championship-winning team at Kentucky Wesleyan College; son LeRon played for both the University of Kentucky and Syracuse University before participating in two and a half NBA seasons. Tragically, Ellis' youngest son Lee Christopher Ellis was fatally shot in Los Angeles in 1998 at age 19.

Ellis passed away from prostate cancer on June 2, 2012, aged 72.

NBA

Source

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	80*		20.4	.419	.658	6.5	.6			7.2
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	78		18.7	.423	.659	6.4	.5			6.6
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	80*		25.3	.444	.697	8.2	.6			10.3
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	80*		27.7	.424	.727	9.2	.9			12.2
Template:Nbay	Baltimore	81*		36.3	.425	.738	12.0	2.1			14.9
Template:Nbay	Baltimore	78		34.9	.475	.724	11.1	2.0			12.4
Template:Nbay	Baltimore	80		20.0	.435	.755	6.4	.9			7.2
Template:Nbay	Baltimore	72		16.2	.469	.741	5.2	.7			6.6
Template:Nbay	Portland	74		34.9	.443	.801	12.3	3.2		15.9
Template:Nbay†	L.A. Lakers	74		14.6	.460	.695	4.2	.6		4.6
Template:Nbay	L.A.Lakers	10		15.6	.275	.800	3.3	.3		2.6
Template:Nbay	Philadelphia	69	69	35.4	.441	.801	10.8	2.0		13.7
Template:Nbay	Philadelphia	81	81	35.0	.452	.750	11.0	2.3	1.1	1.1	9.9
Template:Nbay	Philadelphia	82	69	22.6	.461	.727	7.1	1.4	0.5	0.7	7.9
Template:Nbay	Philadelphia	29	13	16.9	.462	.607	4.2	0.7	0.6	0.3	4.8
Career		1048	163	26.3	.442	.728	8.3	1..3	0..8	0..8	9..7

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1963	L.A. Lakers	13*	23.2	.509	.818	6.5	1.0			6.2
1964	L.A. Lakers	5	28.8	.296	.733	10.0	.8			5.4
1965	L.A. Lakers	11	36.8	.393	.677	12.1	.6			14.4
1966	L.A. Lakers	14	30.4	.406	.641	9.5	.6			9.8
1969	Baltimore	4	16.8	.500	.600	4.5	.4			4.8
1970	Baltimore	3	2.7	.000	1.000	1.0	.0			.7
1972†	L.A. Lakers	13	10.3	.463	.250	3.2	.8			3.0
1976	Philadelphia	1	1.0	–	–	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		64	23.2	.413	.693	7.2	.7	.0	.0	7.2