While at Kansas, where he played for Basketball Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Phog" Allen, Lovellette was a two-time first-team All-American[1] and led the Big Seven Conference in scoring in each of his three seasons.

[3] At the professional level, Lovelette became one of the first big men to move outside and utilize the one-handed set shot that extended his shooting range and offensive repertoire.

[4] In 1957, Lovelette led Minneapolis to the NBA Western Division Finals by averaging a playoffs career best 24.2 points along with 9.4 rebounds per game.

[5] Despite performing big, including scoring 33 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in Game 2 of the series,[6] Lovelette and the Lakers were eliminated by Bob Pettit and the St. Louis Hawks.

That offseason, Lovelette was traded to Cincinnati for 5 players, including Hot Rod Hundley and Monk Meineke.

[8] In 704 NBA games with the Minneapolis Lakers, Cincinnati Royals, St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics, Lovellette scored 11,947 points (17.0 ppg) and grabbed 6,663 rebounds (9.3 rpg).

At Whites Residential Services, a faith-based school in Wabash County, Indiana for at-risk teenagers, he served for 20 years and was successful in providing a positive influence on their lives.

Clyde came back to Indiana as a full-time resident where he eventually died of cancer in North Manchester, at the age of 86, surrounded by his family.