Lonnie Shelton

American basketball player (1955–2018)

This article is about the American basketball player. For the American serial rapist, see Ronnie Shelton.

Lonnie Shelton

Personal information
Born| (1955-10-19)October 19, 1955
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Died| July 8, 2018(2018-07-08) (aged 62)
Westminster, California, U.S.
Listed height| 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight| 240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school| Foothill (Bakersfield, California)
College| Oregon State (1973–1976)
NBA draft| 1976: 2nd round, 25th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career| 1976–1986
Position| Power forward / center
Number| 8
Career history
1976–1978| New York Knicks
1978–1983| Seattle SuperSonics
1983–1986| Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards

* NBA champion (1979)
* NBA All-Star (1982)
* NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982)
* First-team All-Pac-8 (1975)

Career statistics
Points| 8,049 (12.0 ppg)
Rebounds| 4,136 (6.1 rpg)
Assists| 1,459 (2.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Lonnie Jewel Shelton (October 19, 1955 – July 8, 2018) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played from 1976 to 1985.

## Early years

[edit]

Shelton played college basketball for Oregon State University. He was drafted by the Memphis Sounds (soon to become the Baltimore Claws) of the American Basketball Association in 1975 but elected to stay in college. He was then selected by the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1976 NBA draft.

## Professional career

[edit]

Shelton led the NBA in personal fouls in his first two seasons with New York. On December 16, 1977, Shelton scored a career-high 41 points during a 152–150 triple overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[1] After the Knicks obtained free agent Marvin Webster from the SuperSonics in 1978, the NBA awarded Shelton and the Knicks’ 1979 first-round pick to Seattle as compensation.[2]

In 1979, his first season with the SuperSonics, Shelton was the team's starting power forward. That season, he set a SuperSonics record by going 13 for 13 from the field in a game (17 total consecutive field goals), and helped the SuperSonics win the NBA Finals. Shelton was one of three SuperSonics represented in the 1982 NBA All-Star Game (along with Jack Sikma and Gus Williams) and was named to the NBA's 1982 2nd All-Defense Team. Shelton played five seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics and finished his career playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers for three seasons.[2]

## Personal life

[edit]

Shelton's sons include L. J.,[3][4][5] who played offensive tackle in the NFL, Tim Shelton, who played for the San Diego State Aztecs basketball team, Titus Shelton, who played for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs basketball team from 2005 to 2009, and Marlon, who played for the Washington Huskies from 1998 to 2003.[3] He had multiple grandchildren.

### Death

[edit]

Shelton died on July 8, 2018, at age 62 in Westminster, California, of complications from a heart attack on May 5 which left him in a coma.[6]

## NBA career statistics

[edit]

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
† | Won an NBA championship |

### Regular season

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

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1976–77 | New York | 82 | - | 25.7 | .476 | - | .707 | 7.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 11.6
1977–78 | New York | 82 | - | 28.3 | .514 | - | .736 | 7.1 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 14.9
1978–79†  | Seattle | 76 | - | 28.4 | .519 | - | .693 | 6.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.5
1979–80 | Seattle | 76 | - | 29.5 | .530 | .200 | .763 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 13.6
1980–81 | Seattle | 14 | - | 31.4 | .420 | - | .655 | 5.6 | 2.5 | 1.6 | .2 | 13.0
1981–82 | Seattle | 81 | 81 | 32.9 | .486 | .000 | .783 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 1.2 | .5 | 14.9
1982–83 | Seattle | 82 | 79 | 31.4 | .478 | .167 | .754 | 6.0 | 2.9 | .9 | .9 | 12.4
1983–84 | Cleveland | 79 | 78 | 26.6 | .476 | .200 | .764 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 10.8
1984–85 | Cleveland | 57 | 14 | 21.8 | .435 | .000 | .662 | 4.7 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 6.4
1985–86 | Cleveland | 44 | 1 | 15.5 | .489 | .000 | .875 | 3.3 | 1.4 | .5 | .1 | 4.5
Career  | 673 | 253 | 27.5 | .492 | .097 | .738 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .8 | 12.0
All-Star  | 1 | 1 | 20.0 | 1.000 | - | .500 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 7.0

### Playoffs

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

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1978 | New York | 6 | - | 25.2 | .536 | - | .750 | 7.3 | 2.8 | .3 | .8 | 11.0
1979†  | Seattle | 17 | - | 33.3 | .483 | - | .692 | 8.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 12.9
1980 | Seattle | 15 | - | 31.3 | .507 | .000 | .627 | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.5 | .8 | 12.0
1982 | Seattle | 8 | - | 33.3 | .471 | - | .688 | 7.4 | 2.0 | .6 | .9 | 12.8
1983 | Seattle | 2 | - | 26.5 | .174 | .000 | .400 | 10.5 | 2.5 | .5 | .0 | 5.0
1985 | Cleveland | 4 | 0 | 26.5 | .559 | - | .800 | 5.5 | 1.0 | .5 | .3 | 11.5
Career  | 52 | 0 | 31.0 | .485 | .000 | .667 | 7.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .8 | 12.0

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Bucks Beat Knicks in 3 Overtimes (Published 1977)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023.
2. ^ a b Condotta, Bob (July 9, 2018), "Lonnie Shelton, starter for Sonics' 1979 NBA title team, dies at age 62", The Seattle Times
3. ^ a b SONICS: Lonnie Shelton: Unfair Compensation. National Basketball Association
4. ^ SONICS: Sonics History Top Ten: Sonics Sons. National Basketball Association
5. ^ Dan Raley (February 12, 2003) "Body art covers eight Huskies". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
6. ^ "Lonnie Shelton, a key player for the Seattle SuperSonics' championship team and NBA All-Star, dead at 62". July 9, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Database Basketball: Stats

* v
* t
* e

1976 NBA draft

First round|

* John Lucas
* Scott May
* Richard Washington
* Leon Douglas
* Wally Walker
* Adrian Dantley
* Quinn Buckner
* Robert Parish
* Armond Hill
* Ron Lee
* Bob Wilkerson
* Terry Furlow
* Mitch Kupchak
* Larry Wright
* Chuckie Williams
* Norm Cook
* Sonny Parker

Second round|

* Willie Smith
* Bayard Forrest
* Major Jones
* Earl Tatum
* Johnny Davis
* Alex English
* Scott Lloyd
* Lonnie Shelton
* Jacky Dorsey
* Phil Hicks
* Bob Carrington
* Dennis Johnson
* Al Fleming
* Joe Pace
* Mo Howard
* Butch Feher
* Marshall Rogers

* v
* t
* e

Seattle SuperSonics 1978–79 NBA champions

* 1 Williams
* 8 Shelton
* 10 Hassett
* 11 Snyder
* 21 Awtrey
* 22 Robinson
* 23 LaGarde
* 24 D. Johnson (Finals MVP)
* 27 J. Johnson
* 32 Brown
* 35 Silas
* 42 Walker
* 43 Sikma

* Head coach: Wilkens

* Assistant coach: Habegger

* Regular season
* Playoffs

*[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
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template