1. Reginald C Lewis was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993.
19 Facts About Reggie Lewis
1. 2.
At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, and his number was posthumously retired by the team.
3.
Over his four years at Northeastern, Reggie Lewis scored 2,708 points, still the all-time record at the university.
4.
Reggie Lewis was a second cousin of PJ Dozier, who wore the jersey number 35 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder in honor of Lewis.
5.
Reggie Lewis was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Boston Celtics in the 1987 NBA draft.
6.
In 1991, Reggie Lewis scored a career-high 42 points during a win against the Miami Heat.
7.
Reggie Lewis played 15 minutes, scoring 7 points and grabbing 4 rebounds.
8.
Reggie Lewis averaged 20.8 points in each of his last two seasons with the Celtics, and finished with a career average of 17.6 points per contest.
9.
Reggie Lewis returned briefly to the game but was eventually pulled due to dizziness and shortness of breath.
10.
Reggie Lewis left the game having scored 17 points in 13 minutes of action in what turned out to be his final NBA game.
11.
Reggie Lewis was diagnosed with "focal cardiomyopathy", a disease of the heart muscle that can cause irregular heartbeat and heart failure.
12.
Mudge was later cleared of any wrongdoing, and he insisted he had never authorized Reggie Lewis to resume workouts.
13.
On July 27,1993, during off-season practice at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, Reggie Lewis suffered sudden cardiac death on the basketball court at the age of 27.
14.
Two Brandeis University police officers found Reggie Lewis and attempted to revive him using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but they were unsuccessful.
15.
Reggie Lewis is buried in an unmarked grave in Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
16.
Reggie Lewis's death was attributed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a structural heart defect that is the most common cause of death in young athletes.
17.
The center was funded partially by Reggie Lewis and has hosted major indoor track and field competitions, the Boston Indoor Games, home basketball games for Roxbury Community College, and Northeastern University track and field events.
18.
Reggie Lewis had worn the number 35 for his entire career.
19.
Reggie Lewis' contract remained on the Celtics' salary cap for two full seasons after his death because at the time the NBA did not have a provision to void contracts if an active player died; NBA Commissioner David Stern suggested that the remaining NBA teams should approve an exemption for Reggie Lewis' contract, but the teams refused to do so.