Raymond Lewis
Encyclopedia
Raymond Lewis was an American
basketball
and streetball
player.
Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California
and is regarded as one of the best players never to have played in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers
drafted Lewis eighteenth in the first round of the 1973 NBA draft
. During training camp he was reported to have had a nasty contract dispute and was told to mature for another year.
Lewis played in several streetball and summer pro league matches and became a bona fide "street legend". Lewis is reported to have dropped 56 points in a 1983 summer pro league game against Michael Cooper, a winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
.
Jerry Tarkanian, legendary coach at UNLV said in his 2005 Novel "Runnin' Rebel that "Raymond Lewis was the greatest basketball player I ever saw.
Lewis walked out of his rookie year after a contact negotiation disagreement with the 76ers. His second professional year he tried to play for the ABA's Utah Stars but the 76ers threatened a lawsuit that kept him from playing. 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.' "
Lewis died of complications following an attempted amputation of an infected leg.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and streetball
Streetball
Streetball or street basketball is a variation of the sport of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less by way of formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules...
player.
Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and is regarded as one of the best players never to have played in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
drafted Lewis eighteenth in the first round of the 1973 NBA draft
1973 NBA Draft
The 1973 NBA Draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 24, 1973 before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
. During training camp he was reported to have had a nasty contract dispute and was told to mature for another year.
Lewis played in several streetball and summer pro league matches and became a bona fide "street legend". Lewis is reported to have dropped 56 points in a 1983 summer pro league game against Michael Cooper, a winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1982–83 NBA season, to the top defensive player of the regular season...
.
Jerry Tarkanian, legendary coach at UNLV said in his 2005 Novel "Runnin' Rebel that "Raymond Lewis was the greatest basketball player I ever saw.
Lewis walked out of his rookie year after a contact negotiation disagreement with the 76ers. His second professional year he tried to play for the ABA's Utah Stars but the 76ers threatened a lawsuit that kept him from playing. 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.' "
Lewis died of complications following an attempted amputation of an infected leg.