Luther Burden

Luther Dean "Ticky" Burden (February 28, 1953 – October 29, 2015) was an American NBA and ABA basketball player.

High School

Burden played in Albany, New York's Philip Schuyler High School.

College

Born in Haines City, Florida, Burden attended the University of Utah. He played for the United States men's national basketball team in the 1974 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal and scoring 20.2 points per game, a Team USA record which was overtaken by Kevin Durant in 2010. In 1975, his junior year, he averaged 28.7 points per game and set the Western Athletic Conference record for field goals in a season with 359.

Professional basketball

Following his junior season, he was allowed to turn pro as a hardship case. Burden was drafted by the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association. He chose Virginia, but left after one season, during which he had a serious argument with coach Bill Musselman. Upon joining the Knicks, he stated "In Virginia I saw the bad side of pro basketball, in New York I know I'll see the good side". In the 1976-77 season, Burden got into 61 games for the Knicks in a backup role, averaging 10 minutes and 5.7 points per game. However, in the 77-78 season Knicks coach Willis Reed became frustrated with Burden's lack of defensive play, and sent him to the disabled list for the remainder of the season after he played in just two games. Willis unsuccessfully attempted to trade Burden, but ending up placing him on waivers and releasing him following the season.