The 7' 0" Lister played at San Jacinto Junior College, where he was a teammate of future NBA journeyman shooting guardOliver Mack. He led the Dragons in rebounding and received All-American honors. He later transferred to Arizona State, becoming teammates with future NBA player Byron Scott. Lister's senior season averages of 15.4 points and 9.7 rebounds contributed to the Sun Devils having a school record of 16-2 in the Pac-10 and 24-4 overall and being ranked fifth in the nation for the 1980–1981 season. The season, capped with a win over the top-ranked then-undefeated Oregon State, had Lister earn honorable mention All-America honors by the Associated Press and Street & Smith's, All-Pac-10 honors, and his team's Most Improved Player award. A two-year starter in his three years with Arizona State, Lister was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame in 2000 after a career that saw him average 8.2 rebounds and post 148 career blocks. Lister as a member of the 1980 USA Olympic basketball team was the second Sun Devil to be selected for the United States Olympic team. However, he was unable to participate due to the United States Olympic Committee's decision to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games on the orders of President Jimmy Carter. He did however receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.
Professional
Lister was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 1981 NBA Draft. He would consider Bob Lanier his mentor during his time with the Bucks, where he averaged around 8.1 ppg, 7 rpg and 1.8 bpg while only playing 24 minutes a night in his five-year stint with the Bucks. In the 1982–83 season, Lister received 5 points in the NBA MVP voting even though he only averaged 8.4 points and 7.1 rebounds and started in 37 games. After the 1986 season he was dealt to Seattle for Jack Sikma. His best year as a professional came during the 1986–87 season as a member of the SuperSonics, appearing in 75 games and averaging 11.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 2.4 bpg. After just 2 seasons with the Sonics, he was traded straight up to the Warriors for their first round pick. Lister would go on to play another 4 years with Golden State, though playing sparingly in due to injuries. He was waived by the Warriors in March 1993 and went on to sign with Milwaukee. After one more season with the Bucks, the then 37-year-old Lister went to the Boston Celtics, as part of the Todd Day for Sherman Douglas trade. He spent two seasons in Boston on a $800,000 total salary averaging 1.9 ppg. Lister finished his career with 7 games for the Portland Trail Blazers. In his NBA career, Lister played in 953 games and scored a total of 6,298 points. He wore jersey #53 his entire career, and was best known as a solid rebounder and shot blocker.
Coach
In 2000, Lister became head coach of at Mesa Community College. From a 9-21 season before his arrival, Lister had five consecutive seasons of 20 or more wins. In the seven years Lister served as coach, 30 players went on to play for NCAA Division I schools. While coaching at Mesa, Lister spent six summers at Pete Newell's Big Man's Camp. The Atlanta Hawks were impressed with Lister's work at the Newell's camps, thus paving the way for Billy Knight's recruitment of Lister as assistant coach to Mike Woodson in 2007. In November 2008, upon the recommendation of Paul Howard, he was hired as skills coach to the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Personal life
Lister lives in the Philippines with his wife Nova and his daughter Avery, working as the skills coach of the Meralco Bolts. He has five children in the US, namely Alton, Jr., Alexa, JRoss, and Amari. Although retired, Lister has coached aspiring basketball players in the San Diego, California area. On July 17, 2015, Lister was the keynote speaker at the California State Games in San Diego, CA, at Qualcomm Stadium. In January 2016, he joined Tropang TNT as an assistant coach.
Trivia
Lister's deceased brother James, a 6'9", 225-pound center from Sam Houston State, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third round of the 1973 NBA draft, but he never played in the NBA. He played as an import in the Philippines and in Belgium for 13 years.
