Remembering Reggie Lewis (youtube tribute)

[Rondoholic]

Does anyone know how Reggie's family is doing?  Is his son playing high school basketball somewhere?

[NBAJ2K]

I was 9 years old when Reggie passed, already a die hard Celtics fan living in Connecticut.  I scrambled to find every piece of Celtics information available to me which wasn't as easy not living in Mass.  I watched every single Celtics game whether it was on Sportschannel or on WSBK 38, never ever missing a game. If I was up at my Grandparents house who didn't get games on Sportschannel, I'd just sit in the living room away from everyone listening to the whole game on the radio, even if it didn't come in very well.

Every morning I would run downstairs to grab the paper from the front step and bring it in to check for any Celtics articles before I left for school.  Since it was the Hartford Courant and not a Boston newspaper, there normally were not many, but I always had to check anyway.

I remember I had gone to bed early the night and went to get the paper that morning. It was the offseason so I didn't expect anything really, but maybe an update on Reggie.  I normally skipped right to the Sports section since that was all I cared about but as I put it on the table ready to flip to it, I saw the picture of Reggie Lewis and the headline that he had passed away.  I was just beyond shock, as I had been following news updates on him everyday and was nervous but hopeful of his return the following season. My parents had walked over to me and told me that they had seen it on the news after I went to bed but weren't sure if it was a good idea to wake me up to tell me.  Even at 9 years old I was just devastated and was not sure how to react or feel.  

My dad and I had always talked how Reggie had one of the greatest first steps in the league. He really was a joy to watch and was only going to get better after being an all-star the year before (selected by the coaches I believe so it was official, not the fans).  I was very happy that I was able to attend some games to watch him play, including my only visit to Boston Garden before it was torn down to watch the Celtics play in a game against Clyde Drexler the Trail Blazers.  I brought my camera and kept taking pictures to make sure I was able to get a good one of Reggie. 
 
My parents had always been fond of Reggie as they knew he gave back to the community many ways including the Turkey giveaways during thanksgiving as he definitely was one of the great guys of the league.

I was still pretty young at the time and picked up the book about his life, Reggie Lewis: Quiet Grace. If anyone has not read it I definitely reccomend it as it is a great story going through his life up until his passing.

I had been browsing the web the other day and noticed there really is a great lack of Reggie Lewis footage or coverage out there.  The book really is all there is.

I really appreciate the post of those videos, and have passed them on to everyone I know who I believe was interested. Any video anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long post, I'm sure no one is really interested in any of that, just felt the need to add in my thoughts!

Thanks again,

~J

[MrTripleDouble10]

I was 9 years old when Reggie passed, already a die hard Celtics fan living in Connecticut.  I scrambled to find every piece of Celtics information available to me which wasn't as easy not living in Mass.  I watched every single Celtics game whether it was on Sportschannel or on WSBK 38, never ever missing a game. If I was up at my Grandparents house who didn't get games on Sportschannel, I'd just sit in the living room away from everyone listening to the whole game on the radio, even if it didn't come in very well.

Every morning I would run downstairs to grab the paper from the front step and bring it in to check for any Celtics articles before I left for school.  Since it was the Hartford Courant and not a Boston newspaper, there normally were not many, but I always had to check anyway.

I remember I had gone to bed early the night and went to get the paper that morning. It was the offseason so I didn't expect anything really, but maybe an update on Reggie.  I normally skipped right to the Sports section since that was all I cared about but as I put it on the table ready to flip to it, I saw the picture of Reggie Lewis and the headline that he had passed away.  I was just beyond shock, as I had been following news updates on him everyday and was nervous but hopeful of his return the following season. My parents had walked over to me and told me that they had seen it on the news after I went to bed but weren't sure if it was a good idea to wake me up to tell me.  Even at 9 years old I was just devastated and was not sure how to react or feel.  

My dad and I had always talked how Reggie had one of the greatest first steps in the league. He really was a joy to watch and was only going to get better after being an all-star the year before (selected by the coaches I believe so it was official, not the fans).  I was very happy that I was able to attend some games to watch him play, including my only visit to Boston Garden before it was torn down to watch the Celtics play in a game against Clyde Drexler the Trail Blazers.  I brought my camera and kept taking pictures to make sure I was able to get a good one of Reggie. 
 
My parents had always been fond of Reggie as they knew he gave back to the community many ways including the Turkey giveaways during thanksgiving as he definitely was one of the great guys of the league.

I was still pretty young at the time and picked up the book about his life, Reggie Lewis: Quiet Grace. If anyone has not read it I definitely reccomend it as it is a great story going through his life up until his passing.

I had been browsing the web the other day and noticed there really is a great lack of Reggie Lewis footage or coverage out there.  The book really is all there is.

I really appreciate the post of those videos, and have passed them on to everyone I know who I believe was interested. Any video anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long post, I'm sure no one is really interested in any of that, just felt the need to add in my thoughts!

Thanks again,

~J

Another fantastic story.  Thanks for sharing.

[Drjman]

I vividly remember Reggie's pet move was getting the ball on the wing and throwing and up-fake.  He would then bring the ball down to his ankles and swing it back and forth.  He would wait for his man to reach for it, then when he did - Reggie would explode to the hoop or raise up for a mid-range jumper. 

I think that I tried that move in every pick-up and organized game I played in during those years.

Keep the faith,

DRJMAN

[MrTripleDouble10]

I vividly remember Reggie's pet move was getting the ball on the wing and throwing and up-fake.  He would then bring the ball down to his ankles and swing it back and forth.  He would wait for his man to reach for it, then when he did - Reggie would explode to the hoop or raise up for a mid-range jumper. 

I think that I tried that move in every pick-up and organized game I played in during those years.

Keep the faith,

DRJMAN

Perfect description.  That smooth fade-away baseline jumper looked so tough but he made it look so easy.

[nbafan89]

Wow those are some great stories that you guys have posted.  I never thought posting these videos would elecit such touching stories.  The funny thing is, it made me feel like that 14 year old kid again, as I don't think I've seen these videos since that time.  I couldn't bring myself to watch it until now.

Here's the 4th and final part to the tribute.  I also have the entire funeral service that WBZ-TV4 aired live at the time.  I didn't think anyone would want to watch that but now I'm re-thinking it.  If enough people want to see it, I'll toss it up there as well.

I also have a couple of his games on that tape as well that I'll be posting soon.  One is a game at Orlando late in the season in which they lost.  Shaq was a rookie.  The other is from the day before at Miami which they came back in the 4th and won.  I actually only have the last two minutes of that Miami game but it's a great finish.  Anyway, here's the final part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJBkvKCAd8

as a first time poster here I would like to say I have subscribed to your youtube channel and I love the celts and I wish you post more of them

[MrTripleDouble10]

Wow those are some great stories that you guys have posted.  I never thought posting these videos would elecit such touching stories.  The funny thing is, it made me feel like that 14 year old kid again, as I don't think I've seen these videos since that time.  I couldn't bring myself to watch it until now.

Here's the 4th and final part to the tribute.  I also have the entire funeral service that WBZ-TV4 aired live at the time.  I didn't think anyone would want to watch that but now I'm re-thinking it.  If enough people want to see it, I'll toss it up there as well.

I also have a couple of his games on that tape as well that I'll be posting soon.  One is a game at Orlando late in the season in which they lost.  Shaq was a rookie.  The other is from the day before at Miami which they came back in the 4th and won.  I actually only have the last two minutes of that Miami game but it's a great finish.  Anyway, here's the final part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJBkvKCAd8

as a first time poster here I would like to say I have subscribed to your youtube channel and I love the celts and I wish you post more of them

I'm glad that you enjoy them.  I will post as many as I can dig up from my old VHS tapes, and upload them to youtube as time allows.  Hopefully that will be soon. 

[JBcat]

Well I have to say this brought tears to my eyes watching the youtubes as Reggie was my fav player even though I knew Bird was the best Celtic I watched growing up.  I had a cousin who went to college with Len Bias and saw him play in person and from what he said about Bias and what I thought about Lewis I would roll with Lewis and Bias in the 90s and you can have Jordan and Pippen with all else being equal and see what happens.