Definitely Lou Hudson is a forgotten star. A six time all-star who few NBA fans even recognize, this might be due to the fact that his team mates had more appeal than he did or because he was outshined in his era. But in any case, Hudson was still one of the top players of all-time and arguably the greatest Hawks draft pick ever. Hudson had a solid career at the University of Minnesota averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds in his three seasons as a Golden Gopher. Hudson went pro in 1966 and was the 4th overall selection by the St Louis Hawks. His rookie year was a very good one. He averaged 18 points and 5 rebounds and made the all-rookie team as well. He hit the so called sophomore wall his second year averaging only 12 points a game. However, this was due mainly to an injury which kept him out half the season. He bounced back his third year, after the Hawks moved to Atlanta, and made the all-star team.

He never quite recovered from the injury and his stats began to dip. He was still a solid player but in his last two years as a Hawk he averaged only 17 points a game.

Hudson was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after the 1977 season and played his last two seasons in LA. He was once again a solid role player with the Lakers averaging over 10 points a game both seasons before retiring in 1979.

Hudson has a career average of 20 points and 4 rebounds in 890 career games and scored over 17,000 points in his NBA career.

Following his NBA career Hudson began selling restaurant equipment but soon moved to Park City, Utah to sell real estate. He began a basketball program in the late 1980s to help inner city youth in the Salt Lake area. He even coached Northwest Junior High’s basketball team for a while in the late 1990s. Unfortunately Hudson has a stroke in 2005 which has limited his ability to run his basketball program, but he now serves as a spokesperson for an organization called “Power to end Stroke”.

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