He is best known for scoring a then record 42 points for UCLA in the 1965 NCAA championship game vs. Michigan, and his part in the Los Angeles Lakers' 1971–72 season.

[1] He is also acclaimed for leading UCLA to its first two national championships under the legendary coach John Wooden, the first in 1963–64 being a perfect 30–0 season when he played with teammate Walt Hazzard.

[2][3] Goodrich has said that he had originally wanted to attend the University of Southern California (USC), where his father had once been a star player.

This record stood until 1973 when UCLA's Bill Walton scored 44 in the finals vs. Memphis State, and through 2020 it is still the second-highest total by a player in the championship game.

A tenacious and fiery competitor, Goodrich used intelligent ball-handling skills and excellent court vision to lead two of the most successful teams in college basketball history.

[4] As a rookie in 1965–66, he averaged about 15 minutes per game as a reserve guard behind starters Jerry West and former UCLA teammate Walt Hazzard (later known as Mahdi Abdul-Rahman).

[8] In 1967–68, his third season, Goodrich's playing time increased again, to 26 minutes per game, although it wasn't without frustration as he returned to a reserve role backing up guard Archie Clark opposite West.

A full-time starter for the first time in his NBA career in 1968–69, Goodrich showed what was to come as he scored at least 22 points in each of the Suns' first 11 games.

[10] In December 1968, he exploded for 40 points against the Warriors, but topped that later with 43 against the Bulls and, on March 9, 1969, he scored 47 against the San Diego Rockets.

[citation needed] For the season, Goodrich scored 23.8 points per game — sixth in the league and tops on his team.

The Lakers posted an NBA-record 33 consecutive wins en route to an NBA-best 69–13 record led by Goodrich and fellow future Hall-of-Famers Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain.

Elgin Baylor retired early in the season as the Lakers ripped off an NBA record 33 game winning streak.

On March 28, 1975, for the first time in his career, Goodrich topped 50 points in a game with 53 against the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

[13] Goodrich held out in the fall of 1975 and missed the first four games while playing out his option to become a free agent the following season.

Ironically, Allen was the shooting guard when he played with Oscar Robertson on the champion Milwaukee Bucks team.

On August 6, 1976, Goodrich signed a three-year contract, reportedly worth $1.4 million, with the New Orleans Jazz, where he teamed in the backcourt with Pete Maravich.

[14] He rehabilitated the leg and prepared hard for the 1977–78 season and it seemingly paid off as he averaged 16.1 points a game and shot a career-best .495 from the field as a 34-year-old guard.

When he signed with the Jazz in 1976, per league rules at the time, the Lakers were to receive compensation for losing a veteran free agent.

When the Jazz finished the 1978–79 season with the worst record in the NBA, the Lakers were eligible for one of the top two picks of that draft.

They used the first-round pick in 1977 for Kenny Carr and they traded the 1978 first round selection to Boston, who took Freeman Williams.