Frederick L. Lewis (born July 1, 1943) is a retired 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 (appr ...

player. He played professionally in 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 S ...

(NBA) and

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(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 and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, Lewis was a fundamentally sound 6'0" (1.83 m)

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who could pass, shoot, and defend equally well. He attended

McKeesport Area High School McKeesport Area High School is a public high school located in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States. The school, which is located at 1960 Eden Park Boulevard, serves students from Dravosburg, McKeesport, South Versailles, Versailles, and Whi ...

(in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

) and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

before being drafted by the NBA's

Cincinnati Royals 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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, averaging 16.6 points, 4.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds in seven seasons.

Career

Early years

A 10th-round draft pick of the

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 Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

'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 Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in the

1967 NBA expansion draft The 1967 NBA Expansion Draft was the third expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 1, 1967, so that the newly founded San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics could acquire players for the upcoming ...

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, me ...

, Lewis scored 23 points, collected 12 rebounds and dished out 6 assists for the Pacers in Game 7 vs. the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

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 is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, 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 The American Basketball Association (ABA) Finals were the championship series of the ABA, a professional basketball league, in which two teams played each other for the title. The ABA was formed in the fall of 1967, and the first ABA Finals wer ...

and the 1972 Playoffs MVP. Lewis also added four

ABA All-Star The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist after merging with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976. In total, the league held nine all-star games, with al ...

appearances and the 1975 All-Star Game MVP award to his resume.

Later years

After the Pacers lost to the

in the 1974 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 founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. Known durin ...

. Daniels, the Sounds' starting

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, then injured his back after slipping in his bathtub, and Lewis was traded to the

Spirits of St. Louis The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise based in St. Louis that played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter member in 1967 as the ...

in exchange for replacement center

Tom Owens Thomas William Owens (born June 28, 1949) is an American retired professional basketball player. Early life A 6'9" center from the Bronx, New York, Owens played for LaSalle Academy and the University of South Carolina. Career Owens playe ...

. 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 The eighth American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 28, 1975 at HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, Texas before an audience at 10,449. Kevin Loughery of the New York Nets coached the East, with Larry Brown of the Denver Nuggets ...

, and led the young team into the playoffs. However, Lewis suffered an ankle injury, and the Spirits bowed out to the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

, the eventual champions. After one more year with the Spirits, Lewis returned to the Pacers (who by this point had joined the

NBA 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 ...

), and he retired in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 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 (now the Democratic R ...

with 12,033 combined NBA/ABA career points.

ABA All-Time Team

Freddie Lewis was selected to the

ABA All-Time Team The ABA All-Time Team were chosen in 1997 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the American Basketball Association (ABA). It comprised the 30 best and most influential players of the ABA during its ten years and nine full regul ...

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 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 Se ...

s of operation, with respect not only to performance at the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

level but in consideration of

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...

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

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

, 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

, was ostensibly considered. Selected and announced beside the all-time team were a

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated '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 particu ...

and top

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

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, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...

'' 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 pres ...

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, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he spent nearly two decades working for Ozzie and Dan Silna, the former owners of the

. Lewis later moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he was an inner-city

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

, working with young teens. In 2002, Lewis moved back to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

with plans of joining the staff of Indianapolis' ABA 2000 team, and took over as head coach from former teammate

Billy Keller William Curry Keller (born August 30, 1947) is an American retired professional basketball player. High school career Billy Keller, the 5'10" guard, spent his entire basketball career in the state of Indiana. He attended George Washington Commu ...

during the franchise's final season.

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 African-American basketball players 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 people 20th-century African-American sportspeople