Raymond Lewis: The West Coast Legend That Never Played in the NBA

Raymond Lewis was a 6 '2 guard with elite handles and a silky smooth jumpshot, and he was nothing short of a California legend, leading Verbum Dei to 3 straight division titles, drawing massive crowds to his games. After high school, he committed to Cal State LA, where he dropped 73 points against UC Santa Barbara while on the freshman team. Once he got to varsity, it seemed like nobody could stop him, as he was one of the top scorers in the nation. He was a first round pick of the Sixers in 1973, and by all accounts, he was outplaying the number 1 pick Doug Collins in rookie camp. Raymond was extremely confident in his game, but a lot of people viewed that as cockiness. With so many agents clamoring to represent him, he decided to negotiate his rookie contract by himself. Once he realized that the contract had several clauses in it, he tried to re-negotiate, but the Sixers wouldn’t budge. Feeling frustrated, he walked out of the facility. He was suspended for the whole year, and when he tried to sign to play in the ABA, he was threatened with a lawsuit by Philly’s lawyers. He received multiple tryouts over the years, but his NBA dream would unfortunately never come true. Opinions are split on the story of Raymond Lewis, as some feel he was blackballed by the league, while others feel like he brought a lot of this on himself. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/...