After averaging 18 points and hitting 39.5% of his three-pointers on 8.2 attempts per game during his final year at Tennessee, Chaz Lanier will have the chance to still be a deadeye shooter in the NBA. The fifth-year senior is projected to be a late first-round pick, and his rise on the draft boards has spotlighted his athletic roots.
Both of Lanier’s played college basketball and laid the foundation of his rise to the NBA. Let’s get to know them in detail and explore the kind of influence their careers had on him.
Meet Chaz Lanier’s Parents, Thomas and Stacey Lanier
Chaz was born to Thomas and Stacey Lanier on December 19, 2001, in Nashville, Tennessee. Both Thomas and Stacey played college basketball, with the former standing out as a 6-foot-5 scorer at Lipscomb from 1992 to 1996.
“I’ve been playing [basketball] ever since I could walk,” Chaz said. “When I was super young, I had the little goal I used to play on in my living room. Both of my parents played collegiate basketball, my dad at Lipscomb, my mother at Alcorn. It’s [basketball] just in my blood, man. I’ve been loving the game since I was little,”
Thomas scored 1,247 points during his collegiate career under famed coach Don Meyer. While he now works as a freight manager at FedEx, Thomas’ legacy on the court and physical presence gave Chaz both motivation and a model to follow. Chaz, like his father, is an impressive scorer, and guess where he learned it from? Thomas himself.
“He always told me to hold my follow-through and act like you are digging in a cookie jar,” Chaz said of learning from his father.
“He shot a lot of balls himself,” Thomas said. “He learned what would go in and not go in.”
Meanwhile, Chaz’s mother played collegiate basketball for the Alcorn State Braves in the 1988-89 season before earning a B.S.Ed. in Psychology from the same university. Stacey transitioned to entrepreneurship and now serves as the CEO and co-founder of The Atelier.
Chaz was quite small early in his career, 5’6″ to be precise, and thought he wouldn’t succeed in his career until Stacey motivated him.
“I was 5’6″ on a good day…It was really a blessing in disguise,” Chaz said. “When I was small, I was like, ‘Why am I this small? My dad is 6’5″ and I’m 5’6″. My brother is 6’5″/6’6″.’ I told my mom I don’t think basketball is for me. I’m just being real. She was like ‘Honey, just stick with it. You love the game. It’s in your blood. Just stick with it.'”
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Chaz did stick with basketball and has now made Stacey proud as he looks to make his mark in the NBA.
“We’re so very proud him🥰. So far the NBA draft process has been amazing and we know wherever he lands will be great,” Stacey said in a post on X.
