Lanard Copeland

American basketball player

Lanard CopelandPersonal information

Born|  (1965-07-26) July 26, 1965 (age 60)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Nationality| American / Australian
Listed height| 198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Listed weight| 88 kg (194 lb)
Career information
High school| Washington (Atlanta, Georgia)
College| Georgia State (1985–1989)
NBA draft| 1989: undrafted
Playing career| 1989–2008
Position| Shooting guard / small forward
Number| 7, 21
Coaching career| 2014–present
Career history
As a player:
1989–1990| Philadelphia 76ers
1990| Tulsa Fast Breakers
1990–1991| Rapid City Thrillers
1991| Atlanta Trojans
1991| Pepsi Hotshots
1991| Los Angeles Clippers
1992–2005| Melbourne Tigers
1992–1993| Capital Region Pontiacs
2005–2006| Brisbane Bullets
2006–2008| Adelaide 36ers
As a coach:
2014–2016| Hume City Broncos
2016–2019| Sydney Kings (assistant)
2020–2021| Altona Gators
Career highlights

* 2× NBL champion (1993, 1997)
* NBL Grand Final MVP (1997)
* 5× NBL All Star (1992–1996, 2004)
* 2× All-NBL First Team (1999, 2002)
* All-NBL Second Team (1992)
* 2× All-NBL Third Team (1996, 2000)
* No. 21 retired by Melbourne Tigers

Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Lanard Copeland (born July 26, 1965) is an American-Australian professional basketball coach and former player. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1992 to 2008.

## Playing career

[edit]

### Early years

[edit]

Copeland played four years of college basketball for Georgia State before going undrafted in the 1989 NBA draft. He later signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers out of the Southern California Summer Pro League.[1] He played in 23 games for the 76ers as a rookie in 1989–90, averaging 3.2 points per game.

For the 1990–91 season, Copeland joined the Tulsa Fast Breakers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).[2] However, on December 3, 1990, he was traded to the Rapid City Thrillers.[3][4] Following the conclusion of the 1990–91 CBA season, he joined the Atlanta Trojans of the United States Basketball League.[5] Copeland later went overseas to the Philippines to play for the Pepsi Hotshots.

On August 30, 1991, Copeland signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. His stint with the Clippers lasted just three months as he was waived by the team on December 3, 1991.[6] Copeland returned to the CBA in December 1992, signing with the Capital Region Pontiacs.[7]

### NBL

[edit]

In 1992, Copeland moved to Australia where he joined the Melbourne Tigers, a team he remained with until 2005. During his time with the Tigers, Copeland played 449 games over 14 seasons, recording 9,862 points, 1,763 rebounds, 1,438 assists and 233 blocked shots. He won league championships in 1993 and 1997, and was named the NBL Grand Final MVP in 1997. He was also a member of the All-NBL First Team in 1999 and 2002.[8]

Copeland departed the Tigers following the 2004–05 NBL season and joined the Brisbane Bullets for the 2005–06 season. He played just one season for Brisbane before joining the Adelaide 36ers for the 2006–07 season. He played two seasons for Adelaide, retiring from the NBL following the 2007–08 NBL season. In 532 career NBL games over 17 seasons, Copeland averaged 20.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.[9] His 10,735 points are ranked fourth all-time in NBL history.

Games:  | 532

|

Points:  | 10,735 (20.2)
Rebounds:  | 3.7 rpg
Assists:  | 3.0 apg
Steals:  | 1.2 spg
Blocks:  | 0.5 bpg
Field Goals:  | 4078/9373 (44%)
3-Pointers:  | 1242/3569 (35%)
Free Throws:  | 1337/1664 (80%)

## Coaching career

[edit]

After retiring as a player, Copeland had a year coaching the Geelong Big V Division One Men's team.[10] He joined the Hume City Broncos in the Big V as head coach in 2014.[10] He continued to coach the Broncos up until 2016.[11] He was also head coach of the Haileybury College men's team which won the Victorian High School championship in 2014.[8]

On 6 April 2016, Copeland was named an assistant coach of the Sydney Kings, appointed alongside Dean Vickerman to serve under newly appointed head coach Andrew Gaze, Copeland's long-time teammate at the Melbourne Tigers.[8] Copeland left the Kings when Gaze stepped down as coach after the 2018–19 NBL season.

Copeland joined the Altona Gators of the Big V Division Two as men's head coach for the 2020 season.[12][13] He left the program following a disrupted 2021 season.[14]

## References

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1. ^ Cba Guard Signed; Copeland Sidelined
2. ^ Breakers Fade, Lose, 102–97; Rivers Injured
3. ^ Agassi angers Australians
4. ^ Breakers Ship Copeland, Martin To Thrillers in Cash, Player Swap
5. ^ USBL VETS FIND JOBS OVERSEAS
6. ^ 1991–92 Los Angeles Clippers Transactions
7. ^ The Spokesman-Review – Dec 1, 1992
8. ^ a b c VICKERMAN, COPELAND JOIN THE SYDNEY KINGS
9. ^ Player statistics for Lanard Copeland
10. ^ a b "Lanard Copeland to Lead Broncos in 2014". bigv.com.au. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
11. ^ "Lanard Copeland happy with Hume City Broncos' start". Northern. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
12. ^ "Lanard Copeland to lead Altona Gators BIG V Senior Men -". Altona Gators Basketball Association. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
13. ^ "Lanard Copeland to lead Altona Gators BIG V Senior Men - Altona Gators Basketball Club". GameDay. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
14. ^ "Altona Gators men's head coach to part ways with club". Maribyrnong & Hobsons Bay. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Career statistics from NBA.com  · Basketball Reference
* Lanard Copeland at nbl.com.au
* Lanard Copeland at foxsportspulse.com

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

Melbourne Tigers 1993 NBL Champions

* Andrew Gaze (c)
* Andrew Walter
* Dave Simmons
* Lanard Copeland
* Mark Bradtke
* Nick Tenner
* Ray Gordon
* Robert Sibley
* Stephen Whitehead
* Steve Lunardon
* Warrick Giddey

* Head coach Lindsay Gaze

* v
* t
* e

Melbourne Tigers 1997 NBL Champions

* Andrew Gaze (c)
* Blair Smith
* Brett Jefferies
* Brett Rainbow
* Damien Chapman
* Daniel Egan
* Eric Wickstrom
* Jarvis Lang
* Lanard Copeland (Grand Final MVP)
* Marcus Timmons
* Mark Bradtke
* Ray Gordon
* Warrick Giddey

* Head coach Lindsay Gaze

* v
* t
* e

NBL Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award

* 1979: Sengstock
* 1980: R. Smith
* 1981–1985: N/A
* 1986: Davis
* 1987: Loggins
* 1988: Smyth
* 1989: Fisher
* 1990: Grace
* 1991: Hansen
* 1992: Bolden
* 1993: Grace
* 1994: Rees
* 1995: Vlahov
* 1996: Kelly
* 1997: Copeland
* 1998: Brooks
* 1999: Maher
* 2000: Timmons
* 2001: Saville
* 2002: Maher
* 2003: Williams
* 2004: Nielsen
* 2005: J. Smith
* 2006: Anstey
* 2007: Mackinnon
* 2008: Anstey
* 2009: D. Smith
* 2010: Lisch
* 2011: Abercrombie
* 2012: Bruton
* 2013: Jackson
* 2014: Beal
* 2015: Jackson
* 2016: Martin
* 2017: Cotton
* 2018: Goulding
* 2019: White
* 2020: Cotton
* 2021: Landale
* 2022: Cooks
* 2023: Walton
* 2024: McVeigh
* 2025: Dellavedova

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