Freddie Lewis

Who is Freddie Lewis?

Frederick L. Lewis is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association and now defunct American Basketball Association from 1966 to 1977.

Lewis was a fundamentally sound 6'0" guard who could pass, shoot, and defend equally well. He attended McKeesport Area High School and Arizona State University before being drafted by the NBA's Cincinnati Royals in 1966. After one season of limited playing time with the Royals, he moved to the rival ABA, spending the next seven seasons with the Indiana Pacers.

Though players like Roger Brown and Mel Daniels received more attention from Indiana fans, Lewis was a solid contributor on three Pacers teams that won the ABA Championship. He also represented the Pacers in three All-Star games. After the Pacers lost to the Utah Stars in the 1974 finals, however, the Pacers traded Lewis, along with Brown and Daniels, to the Memphis Sounds. Daniels, the Sounds' starting center, then injured his back after slipping in his bathtub, and Lewis was traded to the Spirits of St. Louis in exchange for replacement center Tom Owens.