Luc Longley

Luc Longley is a 7'2", 265 lb. Center from the University of New Mexico who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, and New York Knicks. He is the first Australian to have played in the NBA. Luc was born January 19, 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He played two games for the Perth Wildcats before being recruited for the University of New Mexico. Luc was talked into attending the university, where he excelled in both points and rebounds. He averaged over 18 points per game and over 9 rebounds per game in both his junior and senior seasons. In 1988 he played for the Australian national team during the Seoul Olympics, finishing fourth.  
Longley was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves 7th overall in the 1991 NBA Draft. In 1992 he again represented Australia in the Barcelona Olympics. On February 23, 1994, Luc was traded with a 1995 2nd round draft pick (Dragan Tarlac) to the Chicago Bulls for Stacey King. With the Bulls he won three NBA Championships with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Longley's best season in the NBA came in the 1997-98 season. That year he averaged 11.4 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. On January 23, 1999 he was traded by the Bulls to the Phoenix Suns for Mark Bryant, Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, and a 1999 1st round draft pick (Ron Artest). He played in Phoenix two seasons before being traded to the New York Knicks in a four-team trade. The Knicks traded Chris Dudley and a 2001 1st round draft pick (Jason Collins) to the Phoenix Suns;the Knicks also traded Patrick Ewing to the Seattle SuperSonics; and the SuperSonics traded Emanual Davis, Greg Foster, Horace Grant, and Chuck Person to the Los Angeles Lakers. This would turn out to be Luc's last year in the NBA. He played 25 games. On September 25, 2001 he was waived by the Knicks. He would retire because of a degenerative condition in his left ankle. In 2006 he was inducted into Basketball Australia's Hall of Fame in Melbourne.