Mark Walter Landsberger (born May 21, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. At 6'8" and 215 pounds, he played power forward and center for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1980 to 1983.
Career
Landsberger attended Mounds View High School (Arden Hills, Minnesota) where he graduated in 1973 after leading the Mustangs to the 1972 AA State Championship as a junior.[1] In his senior campaign, he averaged 26.1 points per game,[2] and led the Mustangs back to the state tournament and the consolation championship. Over his high school varsity career, he scored 1,290 points and grabbed 910 rebounds.[2]
Landsberger then attended Allan Hancock College, where he was the California junior college player of the year,[3] the University of Minnesota, and Arizona State University. At ASU, he set school records for most rebounds in a game (27) and highest rebounds-per game average in a season (14.4).[4] After college, he was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 1977 NBA draft.[5] He appeared in 196 games for the Bulls from 1977 to 1980, averaging 7.4 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game.[6] On January 28, 1979, Landsberger grabbed 29 rebounds in a game against the Denver Nuggets. At the time, this was the third-highest single-game rebounding total in Chicago Bulls history.[7] That season, Landsberger ranked seventh in the league in total offensive rebounds, with 292.[8]
Landsberger started the 1983-84 NBA season with the Lakers but was waived later that year before being given any playing time. He signed with the Atlanta Hawks on December 29, 1983,[10] where he averaged 1.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 35 games to finish the season. This was his last season in the NBA, and he ended his NBA career with 2,468 total points and 2,681 total rebounds.[5] He played professionally in Europe until the 1990s.[11] Among the highlights of his European career was a 34 rebound game while playing for Lotus Montecatini Terme in Lucca/Italy on November 11, 1990.[12] That performance set a record for most rebounds in an Italian league game.[13] Landsberger also set Greek league records for most rebounds in a game (31) and highest rebounds per game average for a season (17.9).[citation needed]
On June 21, 2021, it was announced by Deadline that Landsberger would be portrayed by actor Austin Aaron in the upcoming HBO series Winning Time. The series premiered in March 2022.[14]
References
^David La Vaque. "Mustangs man 38 years in the making ; Mounds View boys' basketball coach Ziggy Kauls will enter his 39th season of coaching as a Hall of Fame member". Star Tribune. October 26, 2005. 1N.
