The Basketball Player Who Died on The Court
Reggie Lewis proved his contributions and legacy on and off the court would never be forgotten
“When Reggie Lewis collapsed and died on July 27, 1993, at the age of 27, he was already a husband, a father, a community leader, an NBA All-Star and a Celtics captain.” — Jackie MacMullan, ESPN
On July 27, 1993, a 27-year-old Boston Celtics player, Reggie Lewis, died from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy during an offseason practice at a basketball court. A Brandeis University police officer on patrol tried to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Lewis, but the attempt was not successful. Lewis was pronounced dead two hours later.
According to Gary Washburn at the Boston Globe, three months earlier, during a playoff game against the Charlotte Hornets, Lewis collapsed on the court for several seconds. He left the game due to dizziness and shortness of breath after an attempt to return to the game. By then, he scored 17 points after only playing 13 minutes in the game.
Reggie Lewis was such a talented player that he regularly competed with Michael Jordan, and in one game in 1991, held Jordan to a 33% shooting percentage. In the meantime, Lewis scored 25 points, having teammate Larry Bird say that while defending him, “you didn’t know what…
