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Raef LaFrentz

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Raef LaFrentz
LaFrentz with the Boston Celtics in 2006
Personal information
Born (1976-05-29) May 29, 1976 (age 48)
Hampton, Iowa, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolMFL MarMac (Monona, Iowa)
CollegeKansas (1994–1998)
NBA draft1998: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career1998–2009
PositionPower forward / center
Number45, 9
Coaching career2019–present
Career history
As player:
1998–2002Denver Nuggets
2002–2003Dallas Mavericks
2003–2006Boston Celtics
2006–2009Portland Trail Blazers
As coach:
2019–presentDecorah HS (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points5,690 (10.1 ppg)
Rebounds3,423 (6.1 rpg)
Blocks919 (1.6 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball power forward and center who played for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born and raised in Iowa, LaFrentz attended the University of Kansas and was drafted in 1998 by the Denver Nuggets. He was known for his perimeter shooting and his shot blocking abilities. In 2019–20[1] LaFrentz became an assistant basketball coach at Decorah High School in Decorah, Iowa.[2]

Career

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High school

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Raef LaFrentz attended MFL MarMac High School located in Monona, Iowa. His father, Ron, was an assistant coach on LaFrentz's high school team. He was named to the USA Today All-USA 1st Team in 1994 and was a high school McDonald's All-American.

During the summer before his freshman year at the University of Kansas, LaFrentz was selected to the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival North Team and averaged 11.8 ppg. and 6.8 rpg.

College

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LaFrentz played basketball at Kansas, finishing in 1998. He played with future NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce and journeyman Scot Pollard while at Kansas. The 1996–97 team finished the season ranked #1 in the country, but lost to Arizona (led by future NBA stars Jason Terry and Mike Bibby) in the Regional Semifinal. He was a four-year starter and an All-American in his junior and senior seasons. He joined Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal as the only players in the 1990s to earn first team AP All-America honors twice.

Compiling career averages of 15.8 ppg and 9.1 rpg while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor overall, he concluded his career ranked second all-time at Kansas in points with 2,066 and rebounds with 1,186, and left trailing only Danny Manning in both categories.

Accumulating a record of 123–17 (87.9 winning percentage) over his four seasons, he was part of a senior class that won more games over a four-year period than any class in KU history.

Named by the A.P. in 1997 and 1998 the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, he was also tabbed All-Big 12 Conference first team by both the media and coaches his final two seasons.

LaFrentz became the first KU player in 27 years to average a double-double over an entire season when he posted 19.8 ppg and 11.4 rpg averages as a senior in 1997–98, leading the Jayhawks to a 35–4 record.

NBA

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The third overall pick by the Denver Nuggets in the 1998 NBA draft, LaFrentz averaged 13.8 ppg., 7.6 rpg. and 1.4 bpg. but played in just 12 games as a rookie and missed the majority of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee against Dallas on February 25, 1999. Successfully returning from the torn ACL to start 80 of his 81 appearances in 1999–2000, he averaged 12.4 ppg., an NBA 25th best 7.9 rpg. and ranked eighth in the NBA in blocked shots, averaging 2.2 bpg. LaFrentz also played in the 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend. He played on the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge Sophomore Roster. It was the first ever Sophomore team to play in the rookie challenge. It was there at NBA All-Star Weekend that LaFrentz was on the receiving end of Jason Williams' legendary "elbow pass". LaFrentz was unable to score on the play due to being fouled. In his third year (2000–01), he started 74 of the 78 games he played in and averaged 12.9 ppg., while ranking seventh in the league in blocks at 2.6 bpg., tied for 25th in rebounding with a 7.8 rpg. average, and tied for 27th in field goal percentage (career high .477).

Between November 2001 and February 2002, LaFrentz had a historical run in which he totaled at least five 3-pointers and five blocked shots in four separate games (in a span of just three months); up to that point, it had only occurred four times total in NBA history, and no one had done it more than once. He remains the all-time leader in league history in reaching that milestone. Kristaps Porziņģis is second with three such games in his career, each with a different team.[3]

LaFrentz was traded by the Nuggets with Nick Van Exel, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks for Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway and a 2002 first-round pick on February 21, 2002. He finished the 2001–02 season second in the NBA in blocked shots per game.

LaFrentz played for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.[4]

The Celtics acquired LaFrentz from the Dallas Mavericks, along with Chris Mills, Jiri Welsch and a first-round draft choice, in exchange for Tony Delk and Antoine Walker on October 20, 2003.

On November 13, 2005, LaFrentz became the first NBA player to have a perfect 7–7 three point shooting half.[5][6] This feat would be tied by 10 other NBA players before it was eclipsed by Jalen Brunson with an 8–8 half on December 15, 2023.[7] On June 28, 2006, the Boston Celtics traded LaFrentz, guard Dan Dickau, and the number seven pick in the 2006 NBA draft to the Portland Trail Blazers for center Theo Ratliff and guard Sebastian Telfair.[8] The number 7 pick (Randy Foye) was later traded by the Blazers for the number 6 pick (Brandon Roy) in a draft day trade.

Career highlights and awards

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College
NBA
NBA records

Career statistics

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Legend
  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
 *  Led the league

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998–99 Denver 12 12 32.3 .457 .387 .750 7.6 .7 .8 1.4 13.8
1999–00 Denver 81 80 30.1 .446 .328 .686 7.9 1.2 .5 2.2 12.4
2000–01 Denver 78 74 31.5 .477 .367 .698 7.8 1.4 .5 2.6 12.9
2001–02 Denver 51 51 32.7 .466 .434 .667 7.4 1.2 .6 3.0 14.9
2001–02 Dallas 27 25 29.1 .437 .305 .761 7.4 1.1 .9 2.2 10.8
2002–03 Dallas 69 43 23.3 .518 .405 .682 4.8 .8 .5 1.3 9.3
2003–04 Boston 17 1 19.3 .460 .200 .769 4.6 1.4 .5 .8 7.8
2004–05 Boston 80 80 27.5 .496 .364 .811 6.9 1.2 .5 1.2 11.1
2005–06 Boston 82* 63 24.8 .431 .392 .680 5.0 1.4 .4 .9 7.8
2006–07 Portland 27 9 13.0 .382 .087 .769 2.6 .3 .3 .4 3.7
2007–08 Portland 39 0 7.5 .443 .000 .579 1.7 .2 .3 .4 1.7
Career 563 438 25.8 .466 .363 .711 6.1 1.1 .5 1.6 10.1

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 Dallas 8 8 30.6 .500 .333 .545 7.6 .6 .3 2.8 11.3
2003 Dallas 20 16 24.6 .433 .200 .842 4.4 .3 .6 2.2 8.0
2005 Boston 7 7 26.4 .390 .500 .800 4.9 1.1 .9 1.7 6.9
Career 35 31 26.3 .446 .297 .750 5.2 .5 .5 2.2 8.5

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994–95 Kansas 31 31 23.6 .534 .400 .637 9.7 7.5 .5 .3 11.4
1995–96 Kansas 34 34 27.0 .543 .286 .661 8.2 .4 .9 .8 13.4
1996–97 Kansas 36 36 28.9 .584 .167 .761 9.3 .7 .9 1.3 18.5
1997–98 Kansas 30 30 30.2 .548 .471 .738 11.4 1.0 .9 1.5 19.8
Career 131 131 27.5 .555 .371 .712 9.1 0.7 0.7 1.1 15.8

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "With help from Raef LaFrentz, Decorah boys' basketball enjoys breakthrough season". www.thegazette.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Raef LaFrentz Bio [2021 Update] | Family, Wife, Stats & Net Worth". Players Bio. May 30, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "List of NBA Players with 5 3's and 5 Blocks in a Single Game". StatMuse. March 30, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  4. ^ 2002 USA Basketball Archived July 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "LaFrentz powers Celtics' win vs. Rockets". ESPN. November 13, 2005. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Lopez, Andrew (November 30, 2021). "Jonas Valanciunas goes 7-for-7 from 3 in first half, scores career-high 39 as Pelicans beat Clippers again". ESPN. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  7. ^ "Brunson sets records from deep, drops career-high 50 in Knicks' win". ESPN. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Raef LaFrentz NBA Basketball at CBSSports.com
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