Professional Basketball Player. For ten seasons (1959 to 1969), he played at the forward and center positions with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers and San Francisco Warriors. Born Rudolph A. LaRusso, he attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn and played collegiate basketball at Dartmouth College. While with the Big Green, he was a key member of two Ivy League title teams (1957-1958, 1958-1959) and earned 1st Team All-Ivy status twice. Selected by Minneapolis during the 2nd round of the 1959 NBA Draft, he appeared in 736 career regular season games, scoring 11,507 points with 6,936 total rebounds and achieved NBA All-Star honors five-times (1962, 1963, 1966, 1968 and 1969). During the course of his career, he established himself as an exceptional defender and a complementary player to Elgin Baylor's offensive output. LaRusso was a member of five Lakers' squads which appeared in the NBA Finals (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1966), as he scored 1,344 points with 779 total rebounds in 93 career postseason games. Following his basketball career, he worked as an investment banker and sports agent. He died from Parkinson's disease.
Professional Basketball Player. For ten seasons (1959 to 1969), he played at the forward and center positions with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers and San Francisco Warriors. Born Rudolph A. LaRusso, he attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn and played collegiate basketball at Dartmouth College. While with the Big Green, he was a key member of two Ivy League title teams (1957-1958, 1958-1959) and earned 1st Team All-Ivy status twice. Selected by Minneapolis during the 2nd round of the 1959 NBA Draft, he appeared in 736 career regular season games, scoring 11,507 points with 6,936 total rebounds and achieved NBA All-Star honors five-times (1962, 1963, 1966, 1968 and 1969). During the course of his career, he established himself as an exceptional defender and a complementary player to Elgin Baylor's offensive output. LaRusso was a member of five Lakers' squads which appeared in the NBA Finals (1959, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1966), as he scored 1,344 points with 779 total rebounds in 93 career postseason games. Following his basketball career, he worked as an investment banker and sports agent. He died from Parkinson's disease.
Bio by: C.S.
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