In the course of the 2025 NBA Draft, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, and Nathaniel Clifton, the primary Black gamers to be drafted and play within the league, have been honored within the seventy fifth anniversary of the achievement.
The sons of the three gamers joined NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on stage together with Naismith Basketball Corridor of Famer Oscar Robertson and four-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala to honor their fathers’ legacies and contributions to the sport of basketball.
“Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton, three NBA pioneers, the league’s first black gamers who 75 years in the past made historical past,” stated Silver. “As we proceed to welcome the following technology of gamers into the league tonight, we additionally have a good time the accomplishments of the legends who got here earlier than them.”
Commissioner Silver additionally acknowledged the gamers’ sons, saying, “Your fathers maintain a particular place within the creation of the fashionable NBA. They have been brave, they confirmed resolve, and so they symbolize a thread that continues immediately: the facility of sports activities to deliver individuals collectively. We’re honored to acknowledge their lasting contributions to the sport.”
Chuck Cooper is the primary Black participant drafted within the NBA, chosen by the Boston Celtics with the thirteenth general choose within the 1950 draft.
Although Cooper entered the NBA from Duquesne, the place he was a consensus All-American as a senior, he started his school profession at West Virginia State in 1944. He performed a 12 months at WVSU earlier than leaving to enter the army throughout World Warfare II.
Cooper performed six seasons within the NBA with the Celtics, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (now Atlanta Hawks), and the Fort Wayne Pistons (now Detroit Pistons. He averaged 6.7 factors and 5.9 rebounds in 409 profession video games.
Earl Lloyd, chosen with the a centesimal general choose by the Washington Capitols out of West Virginia State, is the primary black participant to play in an NBA recreation.
Lloyd performed for West Virginia State from 1946-1950, main the staff to consecutive CIAA championships in 1948 and 1949.
He performed 9 years within the NBA (missed the 1951-1952 season because of army service), recording 8.4 factors and 6.4 rebounds in 560 profession video games.
Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton, an alumnus of Xavier College of Louisiana, entered the NBA after an Military stint and 5 years enjoying with the New York Renaissance and Harlem Globetrotters, respectively.
He signed with the New York Knicks, turning into the second black participant to signal an NBA contract. In his eight NBA seasons, he averaged 10.0 factors and eight.2 rebounds.
