From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Houston, Allan W., Jr.

(born: April 20, 1971)

Allan Houston, born in Louisville, KY (the son of Wade Houston), was one of the best shooting guards in the National Basketball Association and one of the highest paid players.

The 6'6" Houston led his Louisville Ballard High School team to a state championship in 1988 while also becoming an honor student. In 1989, he was named Mr. Kentucky Basketball.

Houston played his college ball at the University of Tennessee, averaging 21.9 points per game and totalling 2,801 points from 1989 to 1993 to become the school's all-time leading scorer. He graduated with a B.A. in African American Studies in 1994.

Drafted 11th by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft, Houston ended his career with the New York Knicks, retiring in October 2005. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and also won an Olympic Gold Medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. (See the gold medal game against France on YouTube.)

He now oversees the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation, founded in 2001, serving thousands of families nationwide through original programs in fatherhood and entrepreneurship; and established Faith, Integrity, Sacrifice, Leadership, & Legacy (FISLL), a social impact brand providing leadership training, legacy development, and consumer products.

For more, see Current Biography (2003), Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame; Allan Houston, on the Basketball Reference website; The Courier-Journal article "Top all-time athletes from Ballard High School in Louisville," June 20, 2019, updated Aug. 10, 2026; and "Allan Houston" at the University of Tennessee's Volopedia.