Lumpkin was born in Dayton, Ohio the son of Harold and Dorothy Lumpkin. He starred at Roth High School in Dayton, where he teamed at guard with another future NBA player, Don Smith. Lumpkin graduated from Roth in 1970.
College career
Lumpkin played college basketball at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered for three years. He became the starting point guard as a sophomore, averaging a team-leading 16.7 points and 3.5 assists per game. As a junior in 1972-73, he averaged 13.8 points and 5.7 assists and led Miami to the Mid-American Conference title. As a senior, he again led the team with 18.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. In 1981, he received his degree in Physical Education from Miami.
NBA career
A 6'0" and 165 lb point guard, Lumpkin was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the 1974 NBA Draft, opting to play for that team instead of the Virginia Squires which selected him in the American Basketball Association draft. He played two seasons in the NBA as a member of the Blazers and Phoenix Suns, averaging 3.3 points per game. As a rookie, he played in 48 games, averaging 16.5 minutes, 4.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. Coach Lenny Wilkens did, however, start him at point guard for a seven-game stretch in which Lumpkin averaged 9.1 points and 8.3 assists in 35.7 minutes of playing time per game as the Blazers won three of the seven. He also had 10 assists in two of those games. His high-point game was on January 10, 1975, with 14 points against the Phoenix Suns. On June 9, 1975, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In 34 games, he averaged 10.9 minutes, 2.1 points, and 1.4 assists per game, and the Suns advanced to the NBA Finals, losing four games to two to the Boston Celtics. On October 15, 1976, he was waived by the Suns, ending his two-year NBA career.
In 1983, Lumpkin was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame. He was discovered dead on the Monday morning of November 2, 2009, shortly after being diagnosed with pneumonia. He was 57 years old. He was survived by a son. Shortly before his death, he was selected for induction into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Association Hall of Fame. Also in his honor, the O'Dea High School basketball court was renamed Phil Lumpkin Court.
