High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Lance Collin Allred (born February 2, 1981 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American professional basketball player. Allred is hearing impaired, with a 75-80% hearing loss. He is the first legally deaf player in NBA history. (To improve his hearing, he wears a hearing aid.) He is also the author of Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA, his memoir/autobiography published by Harper Collins. The book was critically acclaimed and featured in several sports publications.