Lawrence Funderburke was born and raised in Ohio where he went on to dominate in High School and College as well. He landed far from Ohio in the city of Sacramento after being selected in the second round of the 1994 NBA Draft by the Kings after a number of teams opted to pass on him by selecting players such as Anthony "Pig" Miller, Bill Curley, Clifford Rozier, and Yinka Dare ahead of Funderburke. But The No-Look Pass doesn't sleep on players like him (who get hacked by the likes of Marcus Fizer: See Above) and we take a look back at his NBA career.
Funderburke averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds as a rookie and played a vital role for the Kings during their successful seasons spanning from 1999-2003 as a backup to Chris Webber. (TNLP jokes that he might actually be the one running Webber's restaurant). There are some who argue that Funderburke and the team played well enough to defeat the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
"The 1999-2002 Sacramento Kings were never in Stern's plan for a NBA championship. It didn't matter if they had home court advantage. He was trying to duplicate "Michael Jordan" with Kobe and Shaq all along. It's sad because the Kings, Rick Adelman, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Lawrence Funderburke all deserve a championship for the way they played that day." - From "The Greatest Tragedy in Sports Part 6/Youtube"
But luckily he was able to get his poster over Shaq: (Near the 1:03 mark)
Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out for Funderburke and the team and they parted ways in 2004 after he missed the entire '03-'04 season and went on to play for the Bulls for 2 games the following season before leaving the League.
Like his predecessors, he proved that life goes on after Basketball. Funderburke went on to author his own book titled, Hook Me Up, Playa. The book brings attention to those scammers or con-artists who are constantly trying to take advantage of athletes and their assets. He set out to help the youth by writing this book and continues to encourage them to continue or further their education.
The No-Look Pass' guest Elie Seckbach also caught up with Funderburke several years ago to speak about the book:
Lawrence Funderburke was a great player during his time in the NBA and an even greater mentor for the youth. The No-Look Pass salutes: Lawrence Funderburke.
Email me: Peter@thenolookpass.com
Follow me on Twitter: @Yungbolo
Follow TNLP: @Thenolookpass
I always liked him, but I think it was because his last name was weird
I mean, it’s the FUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER!
I’m pretty sure he also subscribes to some millenial Christian sect. As in, he thinks dinosaurs never existed and that the world will end in a few days with the rapture.
awesome post
He was a great even in middle school, and he always had a level head he was a smart student.
He was a great even in middle school, and he always had a level head he was a smart student.