Lafayette "Fat" Lever (; born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played in the

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

. He later served as the director of player development for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

of the NBA as well as an analyst for Kings radio broadcasts.

Early life

Lever was born in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

, to Elmer and Willie Lever. The second of three sons, he was nicknamed Fat by his younger brother, Elmer Jr., who had problems saying all the syllables in his name. Their father never lived with the family. In 1970, their mother, Willie, went west to work, while the brothers lived with their grandparents. The children joined their mother in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, a year later.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (1982-1984)

Lever was selected by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

with the 11th pick in the 1982 NBA draft out of Arizona State. While at ASU, his guard-tandem teammate was

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a role player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during the ...

, who left school early (1983) to sign with the San Diego Clippers. In his NBA debut, Lever recorded 9 points, 7 assists and 4 steals in a road loss against the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. On January 20, Lever recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 assists in a road loss against the Mavericks. Three days later, Lever recorded his second career double-double when he had 11 points and 10 assists in a road win over the Spurs. On March 20, Lever scored a season-high 19 points to go along with 6 assists as the Trailblazers beat the Nuggets. During his rookie season, Lever averaged 7.8 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 5.3 assists per game, and 1.9 steals per game.

Denver Nuggets (1984-1990)

Lever was considered one of the NBA's best

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s in the late 1980s while playing for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. In his debut with the Nuggets, Lever recorded 14 points and 12 assists in a win over the Warriors. On November 6, Lever recorded a double-double of 24 points and 18 assists in a road win over the Lakers, the first time it happened in Nuggets history. On March 9 against the Pacers, Lever recorded his first career triple-double with 13 points, 15 assists and a career-high 10 steals. On April 10, Lever recorded a double-double of 26 points and 18 assists in a road loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. At that time, he joined Magic Johnson (in 1982–83) as the only players since the ABA-NBA merger to have at least 2 regular season games with 24 points and 18 assists. In his first season with the Nuggets, Lever averaged 12.8 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, 7.5 assists per game, and 2.5 steals per game. The next season, Lever continued his impressive performance for the Nuggets. On November 12, 1985, Lever recorded his first 30-point double-double as he recorded 31 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds in a road loss to the Rockets. Despite his size (6 feet 3 inches), Lever regularly led the Nuggets in rebounding. He is the Nuggets' all-time franchise leader in steals and was 2nd in career assists. He is one of only three players in NBA history to record 15 plus points, rebounds, and assists in a single

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

game (the others being

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

and

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

Dallas Mavericks (1990-1994)

Lever was traded by the Nuggets to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in 1990 for the Mavs' #9 pick in the 1990 NBA draft plus Dallas' first-round pick in the following one. The Nuggets subsequently traded the #9 pick and their own #15 pick to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

for the Heat's #3 pick in the 1990 draft, with Denver sending the Mavs' 1991 first rounder (which was originally the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

' pick they acquired in the

Mark Aguirre Mark Anthony Aguirre ( ; born December 10, 1959) is a Mexican-American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aguirre was chosen as the List of first overall NBA draft picks, first overall pick of th ...

/ Adrian Dantley trade) to the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

along with Michael Adams, for the Bullets' first-round pick in the 1991 Draft. Lever sat out the entire 1992–93 season due to knee injury. He left the Mavericks in 1994 and finished his career with averages of 13.9 points, six rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.22 steals per game.

Career accomplishments

Among Lever's career achievements were making two

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

teams, an All-NBA Second Team in 1987, and an All-Defensive Second Team in 1988. As of the end of the 2020–21 regular season, he ranks 11th on the all-time list of most triple-doubles in the regular season with 43 over 11 seasons, ahead of players like

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

(28),

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Bask ...

(25) and

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

(21). Of the top 23 triple-double career leaders, Lever is the only eligible player not in the Hall or Fame. He ended his career as the Nuggets second leading assists leader, behind teammate

Alex English Alexander English (born January 5, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman. A South Carolina native, English played college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball, South Carolina ...

, third in terms of rebounds, behind Issel and English. On December 2, 2017, the Nuggets retired Lever's number 12 jersey during their home game against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, which they won 115–100.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , 45 , , 24.9 , , .431 , , .333 , , .730 , , 2.8 , , 5.3 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , 22 , , 24.8 , , .447 , , .200 , , .743 , , 2.7 , , 4.6 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 31.2 , , .430 , , .250 , , .770 , , 5.0 , , 7.5 , , 2.5 , , .4 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 77 , , 33.5 , , .441 , , .316 , , .725 , , 5.4 , , 7.5 , , 2.3 , , .2 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 37.2 , , .469 , , .239 , , .782 , , 8.9 , , 8.0 , , 2.5 , , .4 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 37.3 , , .473 , , .211 , , .785 , , 8.1 , , 7.8 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 71 , , 38.7 , , .457 , , .348 , , .785 , , 9.3 , , 7.9 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , 19.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 35.8 , , .443 , , .414 , , .804 , , 9.3 , , 6.5 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 21.5 , , .391 , , .000 , , .786 , , 3.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 5 , , 28.5 , , .387 , , .327 , , .750 , , 5.2 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 54 , , 24.0 , , .408 , , .351 , , .765 , , 3.5 , , 2.6 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 6.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 752 , , 599 , , 31.7 , , .447 , , .310 , , .771 , , 6.0 , , 6.2 , , 2.2 , , .3 , , 13.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 1 , , 26.5 , , .519 , , .000 , , .875 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 16.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 7 , , 0 , , 19.1 , , .452 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.0 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 5 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .267 , , .667 , , .800 , , 3.0 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 8 , , 31.1 , , .402 , , .000 , , .762 , , 6.5 , , 8.5 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 34.7 , , .450 , , .571 , , .708 , , 4.8 , , 5.3 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 33.0 , , .380 , , .250 , , .667 , , 6.0 , , 7.3 , , 2.3 , , .0 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 7 , , 39.0 , , .459 , , .429 , , .788 , , 9.3 , , 7.0 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 29.0 , , .375 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , 6.5 , , 9.5 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 37.7 , , .373 , , .143 , , .929 , , 10.7 , , 7.0 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , 17.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 48 , , 33 , , 30.0 , , .414 , , .409 , , .775 , , 5.8 , , 6.2 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , 12.4

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lever, Fat 1960 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Basketball players from Arkansas Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers Point guards Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Early life

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (1982-1984)

Denver Nuggets (1984-1990)

Dallas Mavericks (1990-1994)

Career accomplishments

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links