Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The everlasting influence of Black NBA players Black talent played a key role in the NBA’s growth into a global brand. Star players expanded the league’s appeal to a diverse audience.
African Americans first appeared in the NBA in 1950. Chuck Cooper was the first black player drafted in the NBA. [5] On April 26, 1950, Harold Hunter signed with the Washington Capitols, becoming the first African American to sign a contract with any NBA team in history. [6] [7] However, Hunter was cut from the team during training camp and did ...
According to the November 18, 1950 issue of the Afro-American newspaper, he was the first Black "basketer" [sic] to be named an All-American college athlete. In 1950, Cooper and two others--Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd--became the first African-American players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). [1]
First African-American basketball player to win the NBA All-Star MVP, the NBA Finals MVP, and the NBA MVP all in the same season: Willis Reed (New York Knicks) First African American to initiate the concept of free agency. He refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1950, the recently formed NBA made Chuck Cooper its first Black draftee. (The NBL, a direct precursor that’s been snubbed in NBA history , added its first Black players in 1942).
After the NBA he played with the Harlem Magicians, The Allentown Jets, and the Easton Madisons of the Eastern Professional Basketball League. [ 3 ] In 2018, a short documentary titled "Let 'Em Know You're There" told the story of Jim's professional basketball career and eventual battle with Alzheimer's disease.
On May 24, 1950, Clifton became the second African-American player to sign an NBA contract. [a] He played his first game for the New York Knicks on November 4, four days after the debut of Washington Capitols player Earl Lloyd, the first black player to appear in an NBA game. [9]
Chuck Cooper, who had been a Globetrotter briefly, became the first black player to sign a contract with the NBA. Another two of the first black NBA players also were Globetrotters – Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Hank DeZonie. [11] Also in 1950, the Globetrotters played their first game in Madison Square Garden, marking the first time the ...