Lewis, "Reggie" (Reginald)
Basketball
b. Nov. 21, 1965, Baltimore, MD
d. July 27, 1993
The 6-foot-7, 195-pound Lewis starred at Northeastern University in Boston, averaging 22.2 points a game in four years as a starter. He was chosen in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics.
He missed a good part of his rookie season with an injury and was a backup during the next two seasons, but averaged over 30 minutes a game because he could be used at small forward or shooting guard. Very quick, Lewis could score by driving to the basket or by shooting from outside.
Lewis became a starter in 1990-91, when Larry Bird was out much of the year with an injury, and he was named the team's captain after Bird's retirement in 1992. He averaged 20.8 points a game in both 1991-92 and 1992-93.
In Boston's first game of the 1993 playoffs, Lewis collapsed and had to be taken to a hospital. Displeased when a team of doctors told him he would have to give up basketball because of a heart disease, Lewis changed hospitals and doctors in the middle of the night. He was then advised that his heart was healthy and that he could begin training again, under medical supervision. He died of a heart attack while taking part in an unsupervised workout.