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Rivers Knew Earl Lloyd’s Legacy From Late Father

Rowan Kavner

MEMPHIS - Doc Rivers’ late father made sure his son knew Earl Lloyd’s story.

Rivers said he only met Lloyd, who died Thursday at the age of 86, four or five times. But it didn’t take face-to-face meetings for Rivers to understand what Lloyd did for basketball.

“He was a pioneer,” Rivers said, “and he set the pace for us.”

Lloyd was the first black player to ever play in the NBA – a fact Rivers’ late father, Grady Rivers, instilled in him from a young age.

“I knew (who Lloyd was) because of my dad,” Doc Rivers said. “My dad just talked about the history a lot. My dad was a basketball player, so you had no choice but to hear his basketball stories, whether you wanted to hear them or not.

“To my dad’s dying days, if I brought up Michael Jordan over Bill Russell he almost wanted to hit me. He’s like, ‘Are you kidding me? He’s the greatest winner in the history of sports, how could you put anyone in front of him?’ That was my dad’s whole take. I had a good history lesson.”

When looking back on pioneers in sports, people know the story of Jackie Robinson. Rivers said it surprises him how few people may have known about Lloyd, his tale and what he did for basketball.

Lloyd made his debut in 1950 for the Washington Capitals, suiting up just before Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton and Chuck Cooper, who was the first black player to be drafted by an NBA team.

“I was always amazed at how I don’t think a lot of people knew (Lloyd),” Rivers said. “I found that to be interesting, him and Cooper. I thought it was interesting how he and they and that whole group of guys didn’t get acknowledged the same as a Jackie Robinson, probably because baseball was so much bigger at that time than basketball.”

When Rivers sees his own players go through problems, he reminds them how much tougher things used to be.

“I try to talk to our guys a lot about how even Oscar Robertson, who was one of the greatest – if not the greatest – players to ever play the game, had to sleep in different hotels,” Rivers said. “People threw things and said things at him. I think our guys, they can’t relate to that, because they’ve never had to deal with it.”

After hearing of Lloyd’s passing, many NBA legends expressed their gratitude for what he did for the sport and their condolences via social media. Commissioner Adam Silver also released a statement.

“The NBA family has lost one of its patriarchs,” Silver said. “Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in an NBA game, was as inspirational as he was understated. He was known as a modest gentleman who played the game with skill, class, and pride. His legacy survives in the league he helped integrate, and the entire NBA family will strive to always honor his memory. Our deepest condolences to the Lloyd family.”