Now the father of six boys (!), between 14 years and 6 months (!!), Luke Ridnour lives a happy retirement in the Washington of his childhood, with his house on the edge of a lake, an hour from the Canadian border.
Well anchored in the “Great Northwest”, the former organizer and shooter leader of the Sonics returned at length to his career essentially marked by his five-year stint in Seattle, before ending with an ubiquitous sequence of four transfers in one week (including three in 25 hours) and officially announce his retirement in 2015.
“It’s a huge chance to be drafted by Seattle”
“It was incredible. At the time, I didn’t really realize how lucky I was. It wasn’t until I got traded to the Bucks that it really hit me.” breath Ridnour in the podcast Iconic Sonics. “I wasn’t in Seattle anymore, where I knew everyone…I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. Looking back, it was too much pressure that I put on myself. But I became aware of that as my career progressed. It’s a huge chance to get drafted by your home state team, it doesn’t happen that often. »
Member of the eminent vintage of Draft 2003, chosen in 14th position (two places behind his great friend Nick Collison, who became the Mr. Thunder for his loyalty), Ridnour was quickly put in the scent of the Great League. Invited with the Sonics to play a regular season game in Saitama, Japan, Ridnour made his pro debut in the land of the rising sun (8 points in 19 minutes). But above all he had been able to attend a festival of his teammate, one of his career favorites, Rashard Lewis!
“He was an incredible player, one of the first to be able to play the low post as a 3-point shooter. The thing with him is that he was so complete. He could pass, he could score. And he was a great teammate, always positive, encouraging others. He’s one of my favorite guys to play with in my career. »
A kid from the “Great North West”
Invited to the All Star Weekend for his second year, to participate in the Rookie Game as well as the Skills Challenge, Ridnour proved to be in the lead alongside Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis in 2004-05, with 10 points and 6 assists from mean. A season ended in the conference semi-finals against the Spurs, the last great season for the Sonics before their descent into hell and their disappearance…
“It’s been one of the best seasons of my career. In Seattle, it’s the prettiest. We had a superb chemistry in the team, and we felt that the guys were having fun. Many of them had the best season of their careers that year: Antonio Daniels, Ray Allen, Rashard [Lewis], Vladimir Radmanovic… But what I remember the most is reaching the playoffs and beating Spurs at home. On the way back, on Mercer Street which leads to the freeway, there was a huge traffic jam. The fans were still in their car and one lane was shouting “Great” and the other was saying “Sonics”! I remember this moment very clearly because I realized that I was an integral part of what I had experienced as a fan during the days of Kemp and Payton. As no one recognized me, I took advantage of being incognito to follow the celebrations with the fans. »
Leader of the future of the Sonics’ time, to the point of flirting for a time with the American selection (in the Select Team) before the Beijing Olympics in 2008 (and after the affront to world bronze in 2006), Ridnour already benefited of a stellar reputation in Washington State with a selection to the McDonald’s All-American and three MVP titles during his high school career. Including 23 points and 7 average assists for his last year!
“I loved the MacArthur Court, it was a really special room! »
Child of the ball endowed with a good vision of the game and an exceptional dribbler (not unlike the style of play of a Thomas Heurtel in France), Ridnour was spoiled for choice for the University. But his heart leaned towards the Pac-10 (which has since become Pac-12) which he dreamed of as a kid. And of which he will finish best player in 2003 before flying away to the Great League!
« Gonzaga, UW [Washington] and Oregon were my three finalists. I had visited Kentucky as well, but those were my three finalists. UW was in a complicated situation, we did not know if [Bob] Bender was coming back. Gonzaga was on the upswing but I had always dreamed of playing in the Pac-10. Oregon wasn’t super strong when I arrived but loved the MacArthur Court [l’ancienne salle des Ducks, sorte de mini Boston Garden, ndlr], it was a really special room, like in the movie Hoosiers. (…) I remember some games where the referees had to stop the game to calm the fans, because the structure was starting to move. We had fans jumping all over the place and invading the field. It’s an old room, a bit dilapidated but so noisy. It was amazing when we hosted the big Pac-10 teams. »
In the Sonics’ Medusa Raft
Entered into the Hall of Fame of his “alma mater” in Oregon in 2014, already in green and yellow, Ridnour could almost claim that of the Sonics with five beautiful years spent under the emerald green tunic of the city with the eponymous nickname. But the leader unfortunately witnessed the slow decline of his heart franchise, from the acquisition of the franchise by Clay Bennett, who would soon initiate the move to Oklahoma City, in 2008.
“You could feel the tide was turning when they fired Nate McMillan [à l’été 2005, ndlr]. We could see that there were quite a few changes within the franchise and the front office after the purchase of the team by [Clay] Bennett. This last year was really different from the previous four, there was another atmosphere. We felt that the team was going to leave, that we were on a sinking boat. Personally, I wanted to leave him as soon as possible. (…) That season was probably the most difficult of my career with everything that was happening behind the scenes. It was really hard to see the team move like that…”
Then passed by Milwaukee (twice), then Minnesota, Charlotte and finally Orlando, Luke Ridnour did not want to stretch his career in length. From the moment he was no longer a bench player, the veteran preferred to bow out. Discreetly… or almost!
“At least I got into the record books before hanging up! »
Traded four times in one week, from Orlando to Memphis, then from Memphis to Charlotte, from Charlotte to Oklahoma City, and finally from OKC to Toronto, Ridnour watched it from afar. In the tranquility of his little family paradise in the Seattle area.
“It was just funny. I had already told the Magic, with whom I still had a year of contract, that I wanted to stop. But I hadn’t declared it publicly, I didn’t feel ready yet. I knew I was probably going to get transferred. And then, [tous ces transferts] happened and people started laughing about it on the networks. My wife and I, we decided to laugh about it too! My contract was easy to trade, so it just happened. I was even able to sign another contract with the Lakers! But I knew I was going to be at the end of the bench and I was never a player who likes to stay on the bench. On that account, I prefer to be at home to take care of my family. It was a funny career ending. At least I got into the record books before hanging up! »
Highlights of his career with the Ducks
A crazy pass “by instinct”
One of his best career games
| Luke Ridnour | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2003-04 | SEA | 69 | 16 | 41.4 | 33.8 | 82.3 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 5.5 |
| 2004-05 | SEA | 82 | 31 | 40.5 | 37.6 | 88.3 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 5.9 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 10.1 |
| 2005-06 | SEA | 79 | 33 | 41.8 | 28.9 | 87.7 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 11.5 |
| 2006-07 | SEA | 71 | 30 | 43.3 | 35.3 | 80.5 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 11.0 |
| 2007-08 | SEA | 61 | 20 | 39.9 | 29.6 | 85.7 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| 2008-09 | MIL | 72 | 28 | 40.3 | 35.0 | 86.9 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 9.6 |
| 2009-10 | MIL | 82 | 21 | 47.8 | 38.1 | 90.7 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 10.4 |
| 2010-11 | MIN | 71 | 30 | 46.8 | 44.0 | 88.3 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 11.8 |
| 2011-12 | MIN | 53 | 33 | 44.0 | 32.2 | 89.1 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 12.1 |
| 2012-13 | MIN | 82 | 30 | 45.3 | 31.1 | 84.8 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 11.5 |
| 2013-14* | All Teams | 61 | 19 | 38.5 | 34.3 | 65.4 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| 2013-14* | MIL | 36 | 21 | 38.4 | 36.8 | 68.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 5.7 |
| 2013-14* | CHA | 25 | 15 | 38.9 | 30.0 | 57.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
| 2014-15 | ENT | 47 | 15 | 42.6 | 31.7 | 85.7 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 4.0 |
| Total | 830 | 26 | 43.1 | 34.9 | 86.2 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 9.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
