Where Are They Now?
Fat Lever

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Born Lafayette Lever but known to the world as 'Fat', the former Arizona State star had a stellar NBA career that spanned three cities and 11 seasons. Only 6-3, 175 pounds in his playing days, his distinctive nickname came not from a weight problem, but rather from a younger brother who found Fat easier to say than his full given name.

After playing his first two NBA seasons in Portland, he was dealt along with Wayne Cooper, Calvin Natt and two draft picks to the Nuggets in exchange for (current Nuggets GM) Kiki Vandeweghe on June 7, 1984.

He would spend six seasons in Denver (1984-90), leaving as the Nuggets' all-time leader in steals (1,167), second in assists (3,566) and sixth in scoring (8,081). But Lever's most startling number in 46. That is the number of triple-doubles he posted in a Nuggets uniform. Three of those came in the playoffs. Second on the Nuggets all-time list is Dikembe Mutumbo with just 8. All other Nuggets combined (since 1976) only have 21.

Lever would spend his final three seasons in Dallas before retiring following the 1993-94 season. Since his retirement he has remained active in several NBA community efforts, including coaching the NBA's NWBA (National Wheelchair Basketball Association) All-Star Classic Game held during NBA All-Star Weekend for the past four years, serving as a spokesman for the NBA TeamUp program and currently serving as a member of the Read to Achieve All-Star Reading Team, a function of the NBA's primary community outreach initiative, Read to Achieve.

Nuggets.com’s Jonathan Goldstein recently caught up with Lever, who was visiting the Pepsi Center, and talked to him about life after basketball and his thoughts on the NBA today.

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As a former Nuggets great, we just want to see where Fat Lever is today and what is he doing?
Lever: ”Well, Fat Lever’s home is actually in Phoenix, Arizona. I have a construction company (Dalco Inc. of Arizona) there. And I also work with the NBA, the Read to Achieve program with Bob Lanier and the community relations departments back in New York.”

How did you get involved in the construction business?
Lever: “By default. You search for things, and you invest in certain things, and then all of a sudden when they start to go bad you go in and try to turn them around. And realize ‘Hey, there’s a market for it’ and you stay in it. And I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to pick up some government contracts and do some work in that and pay the bills with it.”

Was it hard adjusting to life after the NBA?
Lever: "You just have a lot of time on your hands. I spent six years basically doing nothing. I don't play golf. Alex (English) and I tried it a few times but it just wasn't for us. We'd take like 10 balls each out with us and whoever had the most left after our round was the winner."

Fat Lever recorded 46 triple-doubles in six seasons (1984-90) with the Nuggets.

Have you had any interest at all in coaching or trying to get back into the game in any capacity like that?
Lever: “You know, not necessarily coaching on the floor during game activities. I ‘d like to get involved with the NBA in some capacity, which I am doing now with the Read to Achieve as their spokesperson. I’d like to get with a team, yes. Denver would be a priority, No. 1. If something else comes up, I worked in Atlanta during their training camps the last two years with Pete Babcock and Alex English. So, I’m interested in doing that.”

You were here during the glory years of the Nuggets. What are some of your favorite memories?
Lever: “I still remember all the time when I talk to them on the telephone. So the memories are the people. I walk in here today I see Lisa Sloan, now Lisa Johnson (director of basketball administration), I see Loretta (Harmon, payroll accountant), I see T (T. R. Dunn). I see these guys. That’s it. There was no better camaraderie. Doug (Moe) was here. He’s got Alzheimer’s and couldn’t make his regular flight (kidding). No, I take that back Doug. But that’s it. I think the memories of the players and the personnel. If you have that rapport with the players and your teammates, it carries over to the floor and actually that lends itself to being successful. I think that’s what I remember.”

You are remembered in Denver for all of your triple-doubles. Obviously back then there wasn’t as big a deal made over them. If you had known it would become this big a deal, do you think you’d have a few more? Would you have worked harder at it?
Lever: “I think I would have. Because I go to the summer league games and I remember when Jason (Kidd) was playing in Phoenix with the Suns, it would be displayed on the board how many rebounds or how many assists he was short of a triple-double. And you’re play toward the statistics as opposed to the game. Looking back would I change it? Probably not. But thinking ahead, yeah, I would play the stats more because it means a lot and it plays into your overall memories as far as the game goes.”
You mean your legacy?
Lever: “Yeah.”

What are your thoughts on the game today?
Lever: “Too commercialized. I understand what pays the bills from working with the NBA and TV sales. But a lot of the guys play toward the TV. And I think that’s part of the game. It’s changed. It’s a wonderful game, don’t change it. Basketball is basketball once you get on the floor. And if you win, that takes care of everything.”

What about the level of play?
Lever: “Oh yeah. These guys are great. The level play from one, they’re more athletic. I think the same thing when I came in. These older guys were saying ‘these guys are more athletic.’ I think the athletic ability always increases. It increases with modern technology, medicine and just the athletic ability of the players.”

Back in your day it was more of a run-and-gun style. These days it is not uncommon to see scores in the 70s.
Lever: “I don’t like that part. I like the up-tempo game. I like the up-tempo game. You see your true athlete. But I also think there comes a time now where you have to slow it down to be competitive. And it still can be entertaining. The run-and-shoot type of games I enjoy. Yes there’s times after timeouts that you have to slow it down and run a play. And I think that’s just the versatility of the game that in the older days was there and I think you see it with certain teams now.”

Were you disappointed when they debuted the new colors and they weren’t rainbow colored?
Lever: “You know I asked Jeff (Bzdelik) about that. I said who came up with this Columbia - North Carolina blue routine. He said ‘I don’t care about that. I only care about is the people that’s in them.’
I’m surprised. It looks nice. Change, change is good. Especially when you’re going through some turmoil and you get passed it, you want a new look, and that new look carries into it. But I think the rainbows will always be around.”

Thanks for your time and I wish you continued success.
Lever: "Thank you."

You can e-mail your questions and comments to Jonathan Goldstein, Nuggets.com's website coordinator, at nuggetsmail@pepsicenter.com.