Raymond Lewis (September 3, 1952 – February 11, 2001) 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 (appr ...

and

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

player. After playing college basketball for

Cal State LA California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

, he was drafted by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known 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 league's Eas ...

in the first round of the

1973 NBA Draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

. He never played in the NBA but made a name for himself as one of the best streetball players in California.

High school career

Lewis played high school basketball for Verbum Dei in Los Angeles where he led the Eagles to an 84–4 record and won three consecutive

CIF Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East and the Nordic countries. Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competit ...

titles from 1969 to 1971.

College career

After his standout high school career, Lewis received around 250 scholarships offers, including from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. He ultimately accepted an offer from

, allegedly after receiving a brand new red Corvette and a monthly $2000 payment. As a freshman, he averaged 39 points a game while shooting 58% from the field for the freshman team. He scored 73 points in a game against UC Santa Barbara. During his sophomore season, he averaged 32.9 points per game, finishing second in the nation behind Pepperdine's

Bird Averitt William Rodney "Bird" Averitt (July 22, 1952December 12, 2020) was an American professional basketball player in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an ABA championship with the Kentuc ...

. On February 23, 1973, he scored 53 points in a victory over a

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Rebe ...

-coached

Professional career

The

drafted Lewis eighteenth in the first round of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

. By all accounts he played spectacularly during rookie camp, outplaying Doug Collins, the No. 1 pick in the draft and a star for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team. However, after a contract dispute, the 76ers said Lewis walked out. According to Lewis in 1985, 76ers coach

Gene Shue Eugene William Shue (December 18, 1931 – April 3, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shue was one of the top guards of the early days of the NBA and an influential figure ...

told him to sit out a year and mature. The following year Lewis said he left because the 76ers "tore up my original agreement and said, 'Now you have to make the team.' There were 12 guys on the team with guaranteed contracts. I said, 'Wait a minute.'" In his second professional year he tried to play for the ABA's

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 ...

but the 76ers threatened a lawsuit that kept him from playing. In 1975, he was invited back to Philadelphia one more time, for the third year of his three-year contract, but did not make the team.

Illness and death

Lewis battled alcoholism and depression for the later part of his life. He died in February 2001 of complications following amputation of an infected leg and a stroke.

References

External links

www.raymondlewis.com
at

Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference, LLC, is an American company which operates several sports-related websites, including Sports-Reference.com, Baseball-Reference.com for baseball, Basketball-Reference.com for basketball, Hockey-Reference.com for ice hockey, Pro- ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Raymond 1952 births 2001 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles men's basketball players Guards (basketball) Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Street basketball players