Who Was The First Black NBA Player?
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Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.
The First Black Professional Basketball Player
The first black professional basketball player was George Edwin “Ted” Nichols, who played for the New York Renaissance (“Rens”) in the late 1920s. Nichols was not the first black man to play basketball, but he was the first to play the game at a professional level. He helped lead the Rens to several championships and is considered one of the pioneers of black professional basketball.
The First Black NBA Player
In 1947, Chuck Cooper became the first black player drafted by an NBA team. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round. Nate Archibald, also known as “Tiny”, was the first black player to be drafted in the first round. He was selected by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970.
The First Black All-Star NBA Player
The first black All-Star NBA player was African American basketball player Earl Lloyd. He was born in 1928 in Alexandria, Virginia and died in 2015. He played for the Washington Capitols and the Syracuse Nationals of the NBA.
