Lamp attended and played competitively at Ballard High School, in Louisville, Kentucky.

During his time in Charlottesville, Lamp was part of the 1980–81 team that claimed an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season title and made the school's first Final Four appearance.

Lamp was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, in the first round (15th pick overall) of the 1981 NBA draft.

Lamp played in six NBA seasons, for four different teams (the Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Lakers).

In his NBA career, Lamp played in 291 games, and he scored a total of 1,495 points.