Earl Lloyd

Early life Earl Lloyd was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 3, 1928, to Theodore Lloyd Sr. and Daisy Lloyd. His father worked in the coal industry and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. Being a high school standout, Lloyd was named to the All-South Atlantic Conference three times and the All-State Virginia Interscholastic Conference twice. Lloyd did attend a segregated school but gives gratitude to his family and educators for helping him through the tough times and his success after school.

College career Lloyd led West Virginia State to two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Conference and Tournament Championships in 1948 and 1949. He was named All–Conference three times (1948–50) and was All-American twice, as named by the Pittsburgh Courier (1949–50). As a senior, he averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game, while leading West Virginia State to a second–place finish in the CIAA Conference and Tournament Championship. In 1947–48, West Virginia State was the only undefeated team in the United States, with a 30–0 record. Lloyd graduated from WVSU with his B.S. degree in physical education in 1950. Lloyd's talents were recognized amongst other black teammates, the two being Chuck Cooper and Nathaniel (Nat) "Sweetwater" Clifton. All three would go on to be drafted by the NBA, Clifton in 1950, Cooper in 1950, and Lloyd in 1950, the 100th overall pick.

NBA career Lloyd was drafted in the 9th round with pick #100 by the Washington Capitols in the 1950 NBA draft. Nicknamed "The Big Cat", Lloyd was one of three black players to enter the NBA at the same time. It was because of the order in which the team's season openers fell that Lloyd was the first to actually play in a game in the NBA, scoring six points on Halloween night. The date was October 31, 1950, one day ahead of Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics and four days before Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton of the New York Knicks.

Lloyd played in over 560 games in nine seasons. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound forward played in only seven games for the Washington Capitols before the team folded on January 9, 1951. He was then drafted into the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. While fulfilling his military duty, the Syracuse Nationals picked him up on waivers. Lloyd served time fighting in the Korean War before coming back to basketball in 1952. In the 1953–54 season, Lloyd led the NBA in both personal fouls and disqualifications.

In 1954–1955, Lloyd averaged career highs of 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 to win the 1955 NBA Championship. Lloyd and Jim Tucker became the first African Americans to play on an NBA championship team. Lloyd spent six seasons with Syracuse and two with the Detroit Pistons before retiring in 1961.

Regarding the racism black players faced in the early years of the NBA, Lloyd recalled being refused service multiple times and an incident where a fan in Indiana spit on him. He even went as far as to detail a time in which he was told to "go back" to Africa, and a plethora of times racial slurs were used towards him. However, Lloyd persevered and said that these instances only pushed him and made him play harder.

"In 1950, basketball was like a babe in the woods; it didn't enjoy the notoriety that baseball enjoyed," Lloyd once said. "I don't think my situation was anything like Jackie Robinson's—a guy who played in a hostile environment, where some of his teammates didn't want him around. In basketball, folks were used to seeing integrated college teams. There was a different mentality."

"He's an unsung star. Anybody can score. Lloyd was an excellent defensive player. That was No. 1 on my roster", said his Syracuse coach Al Cervi.

Coaching and scouting According to Detroit News sportswriter Jerry Green, in 1965 Detroit Pistons general manager Don Wattrick wanted to hire Lloyd as the team's head coach. Dave DeBusschere was instead named Pistons player–coach. Lloyd was the first African American assistant coach and was named head coach for the 1971–72 season, making him the third African–American head coach, after John McLendon and Bill Russell. He had an overall record of 22–55 with the Pistons.

Lloyd worked for the Pistons as a scout for five seasons. Lloyd is credited with helping draft Bailey Howell and discovering Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame members Willis Reed and Earl Monroe, as well as Ray Scott and Wally Jones.

“You cannot understand what an honor this is,” Lloyd said in 2007 about the court at T. C. Williams High School being named in his honor. “There’s no better honor than being validated by people who know you best. I will always, always treasure this.”

Lloyd and his wife, Charlita, had three sons and four grandchildren. Lloyd resided in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee, just outside Crossville, Tennessee, until his death on February 26, 2015.

Honors

In 1993, Lloyd was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Lloyd was named to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Silver and Golden Anniversary Teams. In 2018, the road running in front of the Walker Convocation Center at West Virginia State University was renamed "Earl Lloyd Way." In 2022, the 200 block of Madison Street in the city of Syracuse was named "Earl Lloyd Way."

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record