Kawhi Leonard is widely regarded as one of the top two-way players in the league today while doing his best to lead his team to a title this season. However, that's not the only thing that's keeping him busy these days.
The San Antonio Spurs forward recently produced and starred in a documentary, with the title “The first to do it,” which centers on the first ever African-American to play in the NBA, Earl Lloyd. He talked about his latest endeavor, via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, and said he is thankful for what Lloyd has done which made it possible for him to become a professional basketball.
“The guy was like 22 years old when he was the first African-American basketball player.”
“He was a guy who paved the way for us on and off the court. He was loved by fans and other races while he's playing, then walks off the court and gets treated a different way just because he didn't have the same skin color. I learned from his experiences and take them into my everyday life.”
He also shared how he first heard of the documentary and when he started having the desire to learn more about 100th overall pick of the 1950 draft.
“About two or three years ago I wanted to check out who was the first African-American basketball player.”
“I just searched it on the internet and I came up with Earl Lloyd. I didn't want to read too much on him. I just wanted to figure out the answer. Two years later, I hear from people that are going to do this documentary.”
Lloyd played for nine seasons and over 560 games in the NBA, with the Washington Capitols, Syracuse Nationals, and Detroit Pistons. His quickness and ability to catch defenders off guard earned him the nickname ‘The Big Cat,” and also helped him win a title in 1955, before retiring six years after.
The documentary is scheduled to release during the opening weekend of the 2017-2018 season and is expected to be popular among the fans of the sport.
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