Luc Longley, The Aussie’s Secret Weapon
The guy who can drop names and more
Three days ago the Australian Basketball Team took on Team USA. A surprising outcome that led to a Team USA victory in close fashion. There’s much to be said about the Aussie team; many who play in the NBA. But there’s more to be said about someone else in that locker room who doesn’t wear a jersey. Instead, he wears a collared shirt and holds a clipboard on the sideline; his name is Luc Longley- An assistant coach who holds the most influence in the room.
No one likes a name-dropper, especially the professional name droppers. You know, like the ones who find any and every opportunity to drop names just to attract attention. There’s a long list of names that Luc Longley could quickly drop. Luc paved the way for Australian Basketball in the NBA. He played center for a few teams, and by statistics alone, he wasn’t that great of a player. In fact, if you were to make a list of the greatest centers (1 being the best), he’d probably fall somewhere in the middle, closer to the bottom half. Despite his talent level, Luc could walk into a locker room as a mid-bottom tier player and have a similar, if not, the same influence as the greatest center.
What made Luc influential are the three NBA championship rings he owns. He won those championships with the Chicago Bulls during the ’96,’97,’98 seasons, and he did that alongside the greats: Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. Luc can easily walk into a conversation and drop the names of Mike and Phil, but what sets him apart is not the mere fact that he knows them, but he won with them. He brings a weight of experience that outweighs most NBA talent. Luc understands what it takes to achieve greatness, to work as a team and stick to your role. As they say, “Numbers don’t lie,” regardless if he wasn’t a big-time scorer, at the end of the day, he has the last laugh with the number of three championship rings and a narrative that most players wish they could tell. It’s the reason why Luc can demand attention, and hold the biggest influence in the locker room. Perhaps he’s furthering his mark on the NBA map by etching Australia’s name in the world of Basketball.
