On this day in Boston Celtics history, rising franchise star Reggie Lewis would die unexpectedly after collapsing on a basketball court at Brandeis University while working out in the offseason in 1993.
Lewis, who had previously been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat after another on-court collapse during the prior season, passed away after attempts by local police to resuscitate the Northeastern product were not successful. The 22nd overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft for the Celtics, Lewis was widely seen as a critical part of Boston’s future, and the bridge to a successful future after the Larry Bird – Kevin McHale – Robert Parish era.
Along with the loss of forward Len Bias in 1986, this was a major contributing cause to the team’s ‘wilderness era’ of mediocrity that would last more than a decade.