Frederick L. Lewis (born July 1, 1943) is an American former

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. He played professionally 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 ...

(NBA) and

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA). He is the only player to start his career in the NBA, and play all 9 full ABA seasons (1967–1976) until the NBA/ABA merger, then sign back with the NBA. Born in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, Lewis was a fundamentally sound guard who could pass, shoot, and defend equally well. He attended McKeesport Area High School (in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

before being drafted by the NBA's Cincinnati Royals. Lewis played a prominent role on three

championship teams for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, averaging 16.6 points, 4.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds in seven seasons. His 11,660 points rank as sixth most in ABA history while his 2,883 assists rank 4th.

Career

Early years

A 10th-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Royals in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, he earned a spot as Oscar Robertson's backup, averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 assists per game. "Oscar taught me a lot," Lewis is quoted on remembertheaba.com about the legend from Indianapolis. "(He) taught me how to be cool, how to handle situations instead of running all over the court helter-skelter." Lewis was selected by

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in the 1967 NBA expansion draft but instead signed with the

of the ABA.

Chasing the dynasty

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, Lewis scored 23 points, collected 12 rebounds and dished out 6 assists for the Pacers in Game 7 vs. the Utah Stars in the semifinals, hitting two free throws with 24 seconds left for the winning points. Lewis also led a comeback from a 20-point deficit in Game 5 vs. the

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in the Finals, hitting the game-winning free throws with 17 seconds left in the contest. Lewis was an essential piece of the

dynasty. A versatile guard that could make big plays in the clutch. He averaged 16.1 points per game, 4 assist and 3.9 rebounds in seven seasons with the Pacers. He was a three time ABA champion and the 1972 Playoffs MVP. Lewis also added three ABA All-Star appearances and the 1975 All-Star Game MVP award to his resume.

Later years

After the Pacers lost to the Utah Stars in the 1974 Western Division Finals, however, the Pacers traded Lewis, along with Brown and Daniels, to the

Memphis Sounds The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was first founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. Known d ...

. Daniels, the Sounds' starting center, then injured his back after slipping in his bathtub, and Lewis was traded to the Spirits of St. Louis in exchange for replacement center Tom Owens. Lewis averaged a career high 22.6 points per game with the Spirits in 1974–1975, was named MVP of the 1975 ABA All-Star Game, and led the young team into the playoffs. However, Lewis suffered an ankle injury, and the Spirits bowed out to the Kentucky Colonels, the eventual champions. After one more year with the Spirits, Lewis returned to the Pacers (who by this point had joined the NBA), and he retired in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

with 12,033 combined NBA/ABA career points.

ABA All-Time Team

Freddie Lewis was selected to the ABA All-Time Team on August 23, 1997, in conjunction with the ABA 30th Anniversary reunion. It comprised the thirty best and most influential players of the ABA during its 10 years and 9 full regular seasons of operation, with respect not only to performance at the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

level but in consideration of sportsmanship,

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

, and contributions to the growth of the league basketball, and irrespective of positions played. Only players to have played at least a portion of their careers in the ABA were eligible for selection, although performance in other leagues, most notably the NBA, was ostensibly considered. Selected and announced beside the all-time team were a

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

and top

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Hall of Fame balloting

Freddie Lewis is considered to be one of the greatest

ever; according to ''

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

'' he ranks 8th all time. His 11,660 ABA points place him in the top six in ABA scoring records. As of 2019, he is currently on the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

class ballot waiting to join his Pacers teammates Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, George McGinnis and coach Bob "Slick" Leonard.

Retirement

Lewis retired from professional basketball after the 1976-77 season and moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he spent nearly two decades working for Ozzie and Dan Silna, the former owners of the Spirits of St. Louis. Lewis later moved to Washington, D.C., where he was an inner-city schoolteacher, working with young teens. In 2002, Lewis moved back to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

with plans of joining the staff of Indianapolis' ABA 2000 team, and took over as head coach from former teammate Billy Keller during the franchise's final season.

Legacy

In 1997, Lewis was selected as one of thirty players to the ABA All-Time team, as voted on by a 50-person panel including ABA media, referees, owners and front-office executives; Lewis received 38 votes (13th most, with eleven Hall of Famers ahead of him). In eight ABA postseasons, he scored a total of 2,015 points, the second most in league history. Fellow ABA head coach

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Bas ...

said Lewis "one of the all-time great guards in the ABA". Despite his accomplishments, Lewis has not been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame nor had his jersey retired by the Pacers like his three ABA teammates, a fact not lost on columnist Mark Montieth and Gregg Doyel of the local ''

'' who each wrote articles on the matter in recent years. Among people recommending Lewis having his jersey retired ranged from

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

to the kids helped by Lewis with his work for the Education Goals Opportunities and Sports. Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore described Lewis as "absolutely one of the many (ABA) players that were not acknowledged (enough).” Nancy Leonard, widow of Pacers coach Bobby Leonard, stated that the team would not have won those championships without Lewis there as captain (Leonard made several overtures to team ownership to retire the number of Lewis prior to his death in 2021).

Career statistics

NBA/ABA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left";, , style="text-align:left;",

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, 32 , , 10.4 , , .392 , , , , .707 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , , , , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

(ABA) , 76 , , 38.4 , , .421 , , .216 , , .798 , , 5.8 , , 2.4 , , , , , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 78 , , 39.2 , , .440 , , .265 , , .822 , , 4.8 , , 4.4 , , , , , , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;", † , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 81 , , 35.5 , , .421 , , .266 , , .790 , , 3.4 , , 3.6 , , , , , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 81 , , 37.5 , , .441 , , .304 , , .807 , , 4.1 , , 5.3 , , , , , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;", † , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 77 , , 35.2 , , .428 , , .310 , , .861 , , 4.2 , , 4.7 , , , , , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;", † , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 72 , , 30.8 , , .436 , , .345 , , .822 , , 3.2 , , 4.0 , , , , , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 78 , , 27.7 , , .398 , , .181 , , .831 , , 2.6 , , 4.1 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left";, , style="text-align:left;", Memphis (ABA) , 6 , , 37.8 , , .405 , , .167 , , .938 , , 3.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", St. Louis (ABA) , 63 , , 40.7 , , .476 , , .279 , , .840 , , 3.9 , , 5.5 , , 2.2 , , .0 , , 22.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", St. Louis (ABA) , 74 , , 30.6 , , .423 , , .292 , , .817 , , 2.9 , , 4.0 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 17.4 , , .407 , , , , .805 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (NBA) , 64 , , 13.8 , , .401 , , , , .771 , , 1.4 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (ABA) , 686 , , 35.0 , , .433 , , .280 , , .819 , , 3.9 , , 4.2 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 17.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 750 , , 33.2 , , .432 , , .280 , , .817 , , 3.7 , , 4.0 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 16.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star (ABA) , 3 , , 23.0 , , .568 , , .667 , , .857 , , 2.0 , , 4.7 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 16.7

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

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

, 3 , , 3.0 , , .444 , , , , – , , 1.3 , , .0 , , , , , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1968 , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 3 , , 38.7 , , .429 , , .000 , , .966 , , 6.3 , , 2.3 , , , , , , 23.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1969 , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , style="background:#cfecec;", 17* , , 42.8 , , .440 , , .294 , , .872 , , 4.1 , , 4.6 , , , , , , 24.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;",

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 14 , , 38.0 , , .380 , , .357 , , .836 , , 4.1 , , 3.9 , , , , , , 20.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

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

(ABA) , 11 , , 34.9 , , .364 , , .130 , , .757 , , 4.4 , , 4.7 , , , , , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;",

† , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , style="background:#cfecec;", 20* , , 40.3 , , .441 , , .206 , , .852 , , 4.1 , , 4.4 , , , , , , 19.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;",

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 18 , , 35.4 , , .392 , , .222 , , .863 , , 3.7 , , 5.1 , , , , , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1974 , style="text-align:left;",

(ABA) , 14 , , 39.1 , , .441 , , .316 , , .866 , , 3.6 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, style="text-align:left;", St. Louis (ABA) , 49, , 44.8 , , .483 , , .333 , , .822 , , 5.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 26.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (ABA) , 106 , , 39.2 , , .424 , , .246 , , .852 , , 4.1 , , 4.3 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 19.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 109 , , 38.2 , , .424 , , .246 , , .852 , , 4.0 , , 4.2 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 18.6

References

External links

Career stats
at basketball-reference.com

at Remember the ABA *Indystar.co
Greatest Pacers of All Time
*Query & Schultz Podcas
Catching up with Freddie Lewis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Freddie 1943 births Living people ABA All-Stars American Basketball Association (2000–present) coaches American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Basketball players from West Virginia Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Continental Basketball Association coaches Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters men's basketball players Indiana Pacers players Memphis Sounds players Point guards San Diego Rockets expansion draft picks Spirits of St. Louis players Sportspeople from Huntington, West Virginia 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen