Randy Livingston (born April 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. He played parts of eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine different teams. The national high school player in the country in 1993, Livingston's college and professional careers were marked by a series of injuries that hampered his play.
After high school, Livingston attended Louisiana State University but only appeared in 32 games over two seasons because of knee problems. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the second round (42nd pick overall) of the 1996 NBA draft,[2] later he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Hawks in his second year. He played for the Phoenix Suns during the 1999 season, playing his most consistent season (79 games, 14 mpg, 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game). He also played with the Suns during the 1999-2000 season, which was the only time in his NBA career that he played on one team for two consecutive years.
Livingston was drafted in the 2005 AAPBL Draft, but the league folded soon thereafter. He spent the beginning of 2005–06 in the Turkish league, playing for Galatasaray, and joined the NBA Development League's Idaho Stampede (for whom he had once played while the team competed in the CBA) in February 2006. He also appeared in five games with the Chicago Bulls in March. In 2006–07 he began with the Stampede once again but, on April 11, 2007, signed a contract for the remainder of the season with the SuperSonics, for a second time. This was due to almost simultaneous injuries to Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour. For his final NBA season, he played 26 minutes in four games, totalling one rebound and four assists.
In 2006–07's NBDL, Livingston's 12.0 points per game for the Stampede were tied for 44th in the league and his 10.5 assists second only to Will Conroy. The following season, as the Stampede were crowned the competition's winners after beating the Austin Toros 2–1, Livingston retired from professional basketball.[3] Although officially retired, the Erie BayHawks of the D-League still drafted him in the expansion draft, in hopes of bringing him out of retirement.
After an MVP season where he led the Idaho Stampede to its first and only NBA Development League Championship, the Idaho Stampede retired Livingston's Jersey which still hangs today at the Century Link Arena located in Boise Idaho.
Having played 203 regular season games, Livingston has the NBA record for fewest games played across 11 or more seasons. Sean Marks, who played 230 games, is the only other player of 11+ NBA seasons with under 430 regular season games.[4]
After his stint coaching the Stampede, he moved to Australia, where he served as a scout and coaching consultant. In August 2016, he was voted into the greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. He was also hired as an assistant basketball coach for Louisiana State University.[6]
In 2018, Livingston returned to his alma mater Isidore Newman School and coached the 7th and 8th grade boys basketball team. The team went on to win the middle school city championship. The next season, Livingston was chosen to replace retiring Jimmy Tillette as head coach of Newman's varsity boys basketball team.[7] One of his players was Arch Manning, son of Cooper Manning and nephew to Peyton and Eli.
During Livingston's coaching tenure, Newman won a Louisiana state title in both 2022[8] – Newman's first title since 1993 – and 2023.[9]
In 2023, following a recruitment violation, Livingston was suspended by the LHSAA from coaching for a calendar year, and Newman was stripped of their state championships in 2022 and 2023. In response, Livingston filed suit against the LHSAA. On January 18, 2024, at an injunction hearing, Judge Monique Barial issued a preliminary injunction, ruling in Livingston's favor and allowing him to coach.[10]
