Ask any kid of the 90s and early 00s from the non-American continent about basketball; Michael Jordan would top the chart, for his reasons elevated the game and league to global fame. Winning 6 NBA Championships, he revolutionized the game. Following in Jordan’s footsteps, many have realized their dreams. But looking back, do you know the pioneers who paved the way for these players and made it all possible? These are the first Black NBA players who did not let anything come between their passion for the sport. 75 years after their historic feat, the league and the National Basketball Players Association will honor the NBA greats for their contribution.
“He saw the rise of the great organization and knew that he played a role in changing the culture,” Cooper III said about his father. Indeed, not just Cooper’s father, but two other men knew the impact they were bringing to the league. While the legends are not present among us, their contribution and faith are reflected in the present.
Chuck Cooper: Breaker of the color barrier
Right after his time with the Duquesne Dukes, Chuck Cooper signed a deal with the Harlem Globetrotters. He was also invited to the then-prestigious National Invitation Tournament. His NBA journey began on April 25, 1950. “I don’t care if he’s striped, plaid, or polka-dot,” Walter Brown said as he drafted Cooper as the 14th overall pick for the Boston Celtics on that day. He became the first Black NBA player to be drafted in the league. Across his 409 games in the NBA, he scored 2,725 points. He was also the first African American to be named All-Rookie team.
After his four years with the Celtics, he had a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. During his last season, he played for the St. Louis Hawks and the Fort Wayne Pistons. Cooper hung up his jersey after his accident. The legend was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2019.
“My dad is part of history, and him going into the Hall of Fame gives us a chance to teach young people about his legacy. I think the world should know about the talent, sacrifice and contributions my father made to the NBA and beyond,” Cooper III said.
After battling with liver cancer, Cooper passed away at the age of 57 in 1984. While his jersey No. 15 was retired by the Duquesne Dukes, his son Cooper has one wish for the 2025-26 NBA season when the NBA pays tribute to his father. And it is to see his father’s NBA jersey retired. It will perhaps remind fans of Cooper’s first NBA game, which he played on November 1st, just a day after Earl Lloyd.
Earl Lloyd: The Big Cat jump to an NBA title
Lloyd was a legend! He is the first African American player to play a game in the National Basketball Association. Named ‘Moon Fixer,’ in school, he was an All-American at West Virginia State University. Later, he was drafted by the Washington Capitols and became “the Big Cat” in the league.
After playing for the Capitols for a year, he joined the Syracuse Nationals and helped the team win the 1955 NBA Championship. Another player who made history with him was Jim Tucker, becoming the first African–American player on a championship team. Following this, Lloyd went to play for the Detroit Pistons.
Syracuse’s Earl Lloyd (11) stretches for a ball during the first period of a 1955 NBA basketball playoff game in Indianapolis. Lloyd remembers suiting up for the Washington Capitols 63 years ago as the first black man to play in an NBA game: “It was a walk in the park.”
“In my father’s mind, it was incredible for him, a good feeling from where he came from to where he went. My father came from the projects in Valley County, Virginia, to the Hall of Fame and that says something by itself. Getting drafted, playing in the NBA, all three of them being honored by the NBA, it was a major, major accomplishment,” his son Kevin Lloyd said. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 86.
Just four days after Lloyd’s NBA debut in 1950, the last member of the trio played his first NBA game.
Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton: Age a myth to be an All-Star
(Searching for Michael Jordan?) Well, even Clifton had both basketball and baseball skills. Famously known as “Sweetwater,” a nickname as a boy for his love of soft drinks, Clifton was one of the skilled. After serving with the United States Army for three years, he returned to playing basketball. He signed a deal with the New York Knicks and made his debut at the age of 27. Before that, he played for the Harlem Globetrotters.
In his rookie season, Clifton played a key role in leading the team to its first NBA Finals appearance, where they fell in a hard-fought game seven. Over eight seasons in the league, he averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds per game. In 1957, Clifton earned his first All-Star selection at the age of 34, making history as the oldest player to be named a first-time All-Star.
The movie ‘Sweetwater’ directed by Martin Guigui and produced by Josi Konski, sheds the spotlight on his life before he began playing in the NBA. In 1958, he went to play baseball.
“The goal was to get in there, so he could break a barrier.”
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jataun Robinson-Swopes, Clifton’s daughter, discuss the impact of NBA Pioneer Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the first Black player to sign an NBA contract. #NBAPioneers75 pic.twitter.com/WZB2co23Mj
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2025
“He said he didn’t make much money with the Globetrotters, and he thought that he would make more money playing for the Knicks. And then he really was hesitant about doing it. So, he decided that he would just do it for the sake of breaking the barrier because he had been encouraged by some people who wanted them to move up and do things,” his daughter Jatuan Robinson said. Following this, he had brief stints playing with the Pistons and Chicago Majors before finally hanging up his jersey for good at the age of 40. He passed away at the age of 67 in 1990.
Like Cooper, Lloyd, and Robinson share the same dream, which is to see their father’s jersey retired. It might come true as the NBA and NBPA plan a heartwarming tribute for the legends.
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