Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes played collegiately for the Saint Louis Billikens for one season before being selected with the eighth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft. Hughes is the founder of the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy.
Early years
One of the most heralded basketball players to come out of St. Louis, Hughes started his basketball career at Christian Brothers College High School (CBC), which won the Missouri state championship in 1997. He also led the St. Louis Eagles to an AAU National Championship, the summer prior. He played in the 1997 McDonald's American Game scoring 21 points.
Hughes played one season of college basketball at Saint Louis University. He finished the 1997–98 season with per game averages of 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.16 steals. He led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament that year, making it to the second round after a win over University of Massachusetts.
NBA career
Hughes has played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Bobcats, and Orlando Magic. He was drafted by Philadelphia in the 1st round of the 1998 NBA draft out of Saint Louis University, where he was named Freshman of the Year. He was known for being a versatile and athletic guard with strong defensive abilities. During his 76ers tenure, he and fellow guard Allen Iverson were nicknamed "the Flight Brothers", for their above-the-rim play style. He was selected to the 2004–05 NBA All-Defensive 1st Team as a member of the Wizards. He led the league in steals per game with 2.89 in 2004–05. He was brought into Cleveland to provide assistance to young superstar LeBron James, the Cavs' first overall draft pick in 2003.
On February 19, 2009, just before the trade deadline, Hughes was traded from the Bulls to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson.
On February 18, 2010, Hughes was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a three team deal that also moved Tracy McGrady to the Knicks. He was waived by the Kings on February 23, 2010. On March 13, 2010, he signed with the Charlotte Bobcats for the rest of the season.
On December 9, 2011, Hughes signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Orlando Magic. He was waived on February 1, 2012, after averaging 1.3 points in nine games.
Hughes was selected to play in Ice Cube's BIG3 League on the "Killer 3s" team in the summer of 2017.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| style="background:#cfecec;"| 50* || 1 || 19.8 || .411 || .154 || .709 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .9 || .3 || 10.0
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 50 || 5 || 20.4 || .416 || .216 || .746 || 3.2 || 1.5 || 1.1 || .2 || 10.0
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Golden State
| 32 || 32 || 40.8 || .389 || .243 || .736 || 5.9 || 4.1 || 1.9 || .5 || 22.7
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Golden State
| 50 || 45 || 36.9 || .383 || .187 || .766 || 5.5 || 4.5 || 1.9 || .6 || 16.5
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Golden State
| 73 || 56 || 28.1 || .423 || .194 || .737 || 3.4 || 4.3 || 1.5 || .3 || 12.3
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Washington
| 67 || 56 || 31.9 || .467 || .367 || .731 || 4.6 || 3.1 || 1.3 || .4 || 12.8
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Washington
| 61 || 61 || 33.8 || .397 || .341 || .797 || 5.3 || 2.4 || 1.6 || .4 || 18.8
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Washington
| 61 || 61 || 38.7 || .430 || .282 || .777 || 6.3 || 4.7 ||style="background:#cfecec;"| 2.9* || .3 || 22.0
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 36 || 31 || 35.6 || .409 || .368 || .756 || 4.5 || 3.6 || 1.5 || .6 || 15.5
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 70 || 68 || 37.1 || .400 || .333 || .676 || 3.8 || 3.7 || 1.3 || .4 || 14.9
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 40 || 32 || 30.3 || .377 || .341 || .815 || 3.6 || 2.4 || 1.5 || .3 || 12.3
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Chicago
| 28 || 25 || 28.9 || .387 || .353 || .775 || 3.1 || 3.1 || 1.4 || .2 || 12.0
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Chicago
| 30 || 6 || 26.4 || .412 || .392 || .817 || 3.1 || 2.0 || 1.2 || .3 || 12.0
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | New York
| 25 || 14 || 27.5 || .390 || .385 || .794 || 2.6 || 2.4 || 1.4 || .2 || 11.2
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | New York
| 31 || 14 || 26.5 || .366 || .289 || .823 || 3.5 || 3.5 || 1.3 || .4 || 9.6
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Charlotte
| 14 || 2 || 21.1 || .327 || .357 || .853 || 2.3 || 2.0 || .9 || .3 || 8.1
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Orlando
| 9 || 0 || 12.7 || .227 || .143 || .500 || .6 || .8 || .2 || .0 || 1.3
|-
| align="center" colspan="2" | Career
| 727 || 509 || 30.8 || .406 || .309 || .757 || 4.2 || 3.1 || 1.5 || .4 || 14.1
Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | 1999
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 8 || 2 || 24.8 || .403 || .000 || .833 || 4.6 || 2.0 || 1.9 || 1.1 || 10.3
|-
| align="left" | 2005
| align="left" | Washington
| 10 || 10 || 40.1 || .376 || .212 || .831 || 7.1 || 3.7 || 2.0 || .7 || 20.7
|-
| align="left" | 2006
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 9 || 8 || 37.3 || .319 || .278 || .742 || 3.0 || 4.0 || 2.2 || .1 || 11.1
|-
| align="left" | 2007
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 18 || 18 || 35.5 || .347 || .352 || .746 || 3.9 || 2.4 || 1.4 || .4 || 11.3
|-
| align="left" | 2010
| align="left" | Charlotte
| 4 || 0 || 14.5 || .471 || .400 || .571 || 3.3 || 1.5 || .0 || .0 || 6.0
|-
| align="center" colspan="2" | Career
| 49 || 38 || 33.3 || .361 || .287 || .782 || 4.5 || 2.8 || 1.6 || .5 || 12.6
Personal life
Hughes played Kelly Rowland's boyfriend in the music video for Nelly's single "Dilemma".
In 2014, Hughes started a basketball clinic that later became known as the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy. Since 2019 it has operated out of a facility in Chesterfield as well as Fenton, Missouri.
In November 2020, Hughes announced plans to open two cannabis dispensaries in St. Louis with former Knicks teammate Al Harrington.
Hughes is the godfather of Boston Celtics player Jayson Tatum, whose father, Justin, was Hughes' high school and college teammate.
See also
- List of NBA single-season steals per game leaders