Lewis Kevin Lloyd (February 22, 1959 – July 5, 2019) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'6" swingman from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

, he played most of his professional career for the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's Houston Rockets.

Early life

Nicknamed "Black Magic," Lloyd played his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

basketball at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, the same as

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

College career

He graduated from

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

after starting his

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

career at the junior college,

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to the G ...

in Roswell. Lloyd averaged 30.2 points and 15 rebounds per game in his junior year and 26.3 per game as a Senior. He was a two-time winner of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

while at Drake. Lloyd's #30 jersey is retired at Drake.

Professional career

Golden State Warriors (1981-1983)

Lloyd played seven seasons in the NBA, after being selected in the fourth round of the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors.

Houston Rockets (1983-1987)

After two seasons in Oakland, he moved to the Houston Rockets, where he would play three full seasons, appearing in 246 out of 246 possible

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...

contests while always scoring in double digits. In late 1986, however, he tested positive for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

alongside teammate

Mitchell Wiggins Mitchell Lee Wiggins (born September 28, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played the shooting guard position. Early life Wiggins attended North Lenoir High School in LaGrange, North Carolina. College career He pla ...

, incurring a -year suspension from the league.

Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets (1988-1989)

While suspended from the NBA, Lloyd played for the

Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets The Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets were a professional basketball team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1988 to 1991. They played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Associat ...

in the Continental Basketball Association during the 1988–89 season. He averaged 18.8 points and 6.6 rebounds over 18 games.

Return to Houston and Philadelphia 76ers (1989-1990)

Soon after his reinstatement in September 1989, Lloyd was released by Houston, retiring at the end of the season after two games with the Philadelphia 76ers, holding averages of 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, in 388 games. He also appeared in 20 post-season contests in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

as the Rockets reached the NBA Finals, losing 4-2 to the Boston Celtics.

Personal life

After retiring from basketball in the 2000s, Lloyd conducted youth basketball clinics along with coaching at basketball camps in Philadelphia, Des Moines, and Wichita. Lloyd died on July 5, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Lewis 1959 births 2019 deaths African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets players Doping cases in basketball Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States National Basketball Association players banned for drug offenses New Mexico Military Institute alumni Philadelphia 76ers players Shooting guards Small forwards United States Basketball League players American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Philippine Basketball Association imports Pop Cola Panthers players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people