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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. A 6'6"

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

, 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 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 ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Early life

Lloyd played his

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

basketball at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, the same as

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 ...

, where he earned the nickname "Black Magic."

College career

He graduated from

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

after starting his

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

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 t ...

in Roswell. Lloyd averaged 30.2 points and 15

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

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 fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

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

while at Drake.

Professional career

Golden State Warriors (1981-1983)

Lloyd was 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 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He played seven seasons in the

NBA 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 ...

Houston Rockets (1983-1987)

After two seasons in Oakland, he moved to the

, 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 S ...

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

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

alongside teammate

Mitchell Wiggins Mitchell Lee Wiggins (September 28, 1959 – September 9, 2024) was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career He played collegiately at Truett-McConnell C ...

, 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 minor league, development league for the National Basketbal ...

in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

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 The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, 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 en ...

as the Rockets

reached ''Reached'' is a 2012 young adult dystopian novel by Allyson Braithwaite Condie and is the final novel in the ''Matched Trilogy,'' preceded by '' Matched'' and '' Crossed''. The novel was published on November 13, 2012, by Dutton Juvenile and ...

the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

, losing 4–2 to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

Personal life

After retiring from basketball in the 2000s, Lloyd conducted youth basketball clinics, and coached 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 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines 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 NBA players banned for drug offenses New Mexico Military Institute alumni Philadelphia 76ers players Philippine Basketball Association imports Pop Cola Panthers players Shooting guards Small forwards United States Basketball League players