Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has had the honor of having met two of the NBA’s first African American pioneers and having a connection to the third. During the 1950-51 NBA season,
New York Knicks forward Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Boston Celtics forward Chuck Cooper and Washington Capitols forward Earl Lloyd became the first African Americans to play in the league. Rivers has previously met his fellow Chicago native in Clifton and also has spent time with Lloyd. While coaching the Celtics, Rivers also became familiar with the story of Cooper, who played for the Celtics, becoming the first Black player ever drafted into the NBA.
Clifton, Cooper and Lloyd are all Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers who have passed away. “When I first met Nat and Earl, I knew very little about them other than they were first, which is exactly why you teach history,” Rivers told Andscape. “It piques your curiosity and sent me down the rabbit hole of learning about them. The next time I saw Earl I had the honor of telling him how much I appreciated him. It meant a lot to him, but way more for me.”
Andscape
