#35 Reggie Lewis, “Truck,” Shooting Guard, 1987-1993
Born in Baltimore in 1965, Reggie Lewis attended Dunbar High School in the city’s east side, which boasted one of the best basketball teams in the country. He played alongside several other future NBA players, including Muggsy Bogues. Dunbar went undefeated in back to back years when Lewis was a junior and senior. In college, he played for Northeastern University in Boston from 1983 to ‘87. He was his conference’s Player of the Year in 1985, ‘86 and ‘87 and his number “35” has been retired by the school.
Lewis was drafted 22nd overall by the Celtics in 1987, the year after Boston’s number two overall pick, Maryland superstar Len Bias, died of a freak cocaine overdose two days after the draft. The Celtics got the high quality young player they needed in Lewis, as the Celtics’ Big Three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were beginning to age. McHale, the youngest of the three, turned 30 in 1987. Lewis played only 405 minutes in his rookie year, but his role greatly increased in ‘88-89, partly due to Larry Bird playing only six games that season due to foot surgery. Lewis averaged 18.5 points and 1.5 steals per game, helping the Celtics make the playoffs without Bird, although they were eliminated in the first round.
With Bird back, the Celtics were able to advance to the second round in ‘91 and ‘92, but no further. 1992 also marked his lone appearance in the All Star Game. Lewis helped power the Celtics back to the playoffs in ‘93, the first season after Bird’s retirement. In the first game of the opening series against the Charlotte Hornets, something was clearly wrong with Reggie Lewis. He collapsed during the first quarter and was hospitalized; it turned out to be the last NBA game he ever played. With Lewis absent, the Celtics lost the series three games to one. The team’s management hired a “dream team” of doctors to diagnose Lewis and determine whether or not he could return. He most likely suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, meaning he could never play basketball again.
However, he sought a second opinion, and was told by another doctor that it was safe for him to play. Lewis decided to trust the second opinion and it cost him his life. He went into cardiac arrest and died on July 27th, 1993, while practicing at the gym of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He was 27 years old.
Despite his tragic illness and death that cut short his career, Lewis is currently seventh all time among Celtics players in blocked shots, tenth in steals and 18th in points. His career highs include 20.8 points per game in both ‘91-92 and ‘92-93, shooting over 50% from the field in ‘91-92, and averaging 1.5 steals per game in ‘88-89, ‘91-92 and ‘92-93. He scored a career high of 42 points twice, first in an April 1991 win against the Miami Heat and again in a second round playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in May 1992.
Reggie Lewis has gone down as one of the great what-ifs in Celtics history, along with Len Bias. The Celtics missed the playoffs for six straight seasons following his death, the longest stretch in franchise history. In a ceremony attended by many of his former teammates, including Larry Bird and Dennis Johnson, Reggie Lewis’ number “35” was retired by the Celtics on March 22nd, 1995, just months before the team played their last game at the old Boston Garden.
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