Earl Lloyd

Earl Francis Lloyd

Detroit Pistons Player (1958 – 1960)
Detroit Pistons Coach (1971 – 1973)

Earl Lloyd was born in Alexandria, Virginia and played basketball at Parker-Grey High School earning all-conference honors three times and all-state honors twice. He earned a scholarship to West Virginia State where he led his team to conference championships in 1948 and 1949 and was twice named All-American. After being drafted by the Washington Capitals in the ninth round of the 1950 NBA Draft Lloyd went on to play professional basketball as one of the first three African-American players. He continued his career in Syracuse where he won an NBA championship in 1955 and finished out with the Detroit Pistons from 1958 through the 1960 season. Lloyd also coached the Pistons from 1971 to 1973 where he was the third African-American Head Coach in the NBA.   Earl Lloyd was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He passed away on February 26, 2015 at age 86 years of age.