Larry Costello

Larry Costello
Personal information
Born	July 2, 1931; Minoa, New York, U.S.
Died	December 13, 2001 (aged 70); Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	186 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	Minoa (Minoa, New York)
College	Niagara (1951–1954)
NBA draft	1954: 2nd round, 12th overall pick
	Selected by the Philadelphia Warriors
Playing career	1954–1968
Position	Point guard
Number	5, 18, 15, 6, 21
Coaching career	1968–1987
Career history
As player:
1954–1957	Philadelphia Warriors
1957–1965	Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers
1965–1966	Wilkes-Barre Barons
1966–1968	Philadelphia 76ers
As coach:
1968–1976	Milwaukee Bucks
1978–1979	Chicago Bulls
1979–1980	Milwaukee Does
1980–1987	Utica College
Career highlights and awards
	As player: NBA champion (1967); 6× NBA All-Star (1958–1962, 1965); No. 69 retired by Niagara Purple Eagles; All-NBA Second Team (1961); As coach: NBA champion (1971); 2× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1971, 1974);
Career NBA playing statistics
Points	8,622 (12.2 ppg)
Rebounds	2,705 (3.8 rpg)
Assists	3,215 (4.6 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Career coaching record
NBA	430–300 (.589)
	Record at Basketball Reference
	Basketball Hall of Fame

Lawrence Ronald Costello (July 2, 1931 – December 13, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors and the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, and the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the EPBL. He served as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls.

A six-time All-Star, Costello was the National Basketball Association's last two-handed set shooter. As the inaugural coach of the Bucks, he led them to a championship in their third season of existence in 1971, the fastest run for an expansion team in NBA history. In ten seasons as a coach, Costello reached the postseason six times, while winning 37 of his 60 postseason games as coach, for a winning percentage of 61.7%, ninth best in NBA history.^[2] In 2022, Costello was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.^[3]

Playing career

Costello attended at Niagara University after growing up in Minoa, New York (born to parents that were basketball players in high school) and attending East Syracuse-Minoa High School. He had excelled in basketball, baseball, and football but chose to attend Niagara for basketball.^[1]

Costello played three seasons at Niagara, from 1951 to 1954, after spending his freshman year on the freshman team due to the NCAA rules of the time. He led the Purple Eagles to the National Invitational Tournament in 1953 and 1954 before graduating as the all-time leading scorer (1,275) in program history (he now ranks in the top thirty).^[3]^[4] He wore the jersey number of 24 until his senior season due to his efforts in a notable game in his junior year. Against Siena on February 21, 1953, Costello played all but twenty seconds of a six-overtime game that ran for 69 minutes, where he scored 21 points in an 88–81 win. To commemorate his efforts in the longest college basketball game at that time, his jersey number was switched to 69. His jersey number of 69 was retired by Niagara in 2001.^[5]^[6]

Costello was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1954, electing to choose it over study at the University of Buffalo and their dental school due to having more of a passion for basketball. After his rookie season, he served in the Korean War for a year before returning to play for the Warriors. ^[7] After the season, Costello was traded to the Syracuse Nationals for $5,000. He averaged over ten points a game in each of his first eight seasons with the team.

Costello retired in 1965 from the Philadelphia 76ers (the former Syracuse Nationals), but eventually came back for the 1966–67 NBA season after new head coach Alex Hannum told him he needed a veteran point guard. Forty-two games into the season, Costello tore his Achilles tendon on January 6, 1967, and was replaced by Wali Jones. He did, however, come back to participate in the 1967 playoffs, where he earned a championship ring. Costello ended his career for the second and final time in 1968.

During his NBA career, Costello was selected to six NBA All-Star Games (playing in five). He led the league in free throw percentage in the 1962–63 and 1964–65 seasons.

Coaching career

Costello began his coaching career at East Syracuse-Minoa High School, his alma mater, where he served for the 1968 season.

Costello took over as head coach of the expansion team Milwaukee Bucks in 1968 and coached them to a league-best 66–16 mark in 1970–71, including a then-NBA record 20-game win streak. The Bucks won the championship in the post-season with a 4–0 sweep of the Baltimore Bullets. The Bucks won a league best 59 games during the 1973–74 regular season and returned to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games.

After a 3–15 start in the 1976–77 season, Costello resigned on November 22, 1976.^[8] He was replaced by Don Nelson, who would be head coach of the Bucks for 11 seasons.

Costello coached the Chicago Bulls for 56 games in 1978–79 before returning to Milwaukee to coach the Milwaukee Does of the Women's Professional Basketball League for part of the 1979–80 season.

Costello's last coaching job was at Utica College in the 1980s. The school was making the transition from Division III to Division I as an independent. Costello coached one season in Division III. In his second year in Division I, the Pioneers were the seventh most improved team in the country based on their won-loss record. Costello retired in 1987, having won 65 games at Utica in six seasons.^[9]

Costello was best known as one of the first coaches to employ videotape to analyze his team and opponents.

Later life

Costello appeared on NBA Live videogame series, as member of the 1950s NBA Live Legend All-Stars Team.

Costello died on December 13, 2001, after battling cancer for more than a year.^[10]

Costello was featured in the book Basketball History in Syracuse, Hoops Roots by author Mark Allen Baker published by The History Press in 2010. The book is an introduction to professional basketball in Syracuse and includes teams like (Vic Hanson's) All-Americans, the Syracuse Reds and the Syracuse Nationals (1946–1963).

NBA career statistics

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	*	Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1954–55	Philadelphia	19	24.4	.331	.813	2.6	4.1	6.2
1956–57	Philadelphia	72	29.3	.374	.788	4.5	3.3	7.6
1957–58	Syracuse	72	38.1	.426	.847	5.3	4.4	14.9
1958–59	Syracuse	70	39.3	.437	.802	5.2	5.4	15.8
1959–60	Syracuse	71	34.8	.453	.862	5.5	6.3	14.0
1960–61	Syracuse	75	28.9	.482	.799	3.9	5.5	14.5
1961–62	Syracuse	63	29.4	.427	.837	3.9	5.7	13.8
1962–63	Syracuse	78	26.5	.432	.881*	3.0	4.3	11.0
1963–64	Philadelphia	45	25.3	.468	.865	2.3	3.7	11.8
1964–65	Philadelphia	64	30.7	.445	.877*	2.6	4.3	13.5
1966–67†	Philadelphia	49	19.9	.444	.902	2.1	2.9	7.8
1967–68	Philadelphia	28	17.6	.453	.827	1.8	2.4	7.2
Career		706	30.0	.438	.841	3.8	4.6	12.2
All-Star		5	14.2	.344	1.000	1.8	2.2	4.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1957	Philadelphia	2	8.0	.375	.000	2.5	1.0	3.0
1958	Syracuse	3	44.7	.294	1.000	8.3	4.0	11.3
1959	Syracuse	9	40.1	.446	.836	5.9	6.0	17.7
1960	Syracuse	3	40.7	.426	.833	4.7	6.7	16.7
1961	Syracuse	8	33.6	.408	.855	4.4	6.5	16.4
1962	Syracuse	5	33.4	.431	.879	3.2	5.6	14.6
1963	Syracuse	5	26.8	.432	.826	0.8	4.6	10.2
1964	Philadelphia	5	7.2	.214	1.000	0.6	0.8	3.2
1965	Philadelphia	10	20.7	.415	.688	1.2	2.0	5.5
1967†	Philadelphia	2	12.5	.750	1.000	2.0	1.5	8.5
Career		52	28.3	.416	.852	3.3	4.2	11.4

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %


Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Milwaukee	1968–69	82	27	55	.329	7th in Eastern	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Milwaukee	1969–70	82	56	26	.683	2nd in Eastern	10	5	5	.500	Lost in Conference semifinals
Milwaukee	1970–71	82	66	16	..805	2nd in Midwest	14	12	2	.857	Won NBA Championship
Milwaukee	1971–72	82	63	19	.768	1st in Midwest	7	6	5	.545	Lost in Conference finals
Milwaukee	1972–73	82	60	22	.732	1st in Midwest	6	2	4	.333	Lost in Conference semifinals
Milwaukee	1973–74	82	59	23	.720	1st in Midwest	16	11	5	.688	Lost in NBA Finals
Milwaukee	1974–75	82	38	44	.463	4th in Midwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Milwaukee	1975–76	82	38	44	.463	1st in Midwest	3	1	2	.333	Lost in First round
Milwaukee	1976–77	18	3	15	.167	(resigned)	-	-	-	–	－
Chicago	1978–79	56	20	36	.357	(fired)	-	-	-	–	－
Career		730	430	300	.589		60	37	23	.617