Earl Francis Lloyd (April 3, 1928 – February 26, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach.

He received a scholarship to play basketball at West Virginia State University, home of the Yellow Jackets.

[7][8] Lloyd led West Virginia State to two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Conference and Tournament Championships in 1948 and 1949.

As a senior, he averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game, while leading West Virginia State to a second–place finish in the CIAA Conference and Tournament Championship.

Lloyd led the team to two wins over the reigning Minneapolis Lakers; this proved his talents beyond his race.

[10] Lloyd's talents were recognized amongst other black teammates, the two being Chuck Cooper and Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton.

It was because of the order in which the team's season openers fell that Lloyd was the first to actually play in a game in the NBA, scoring six points on Halloween night.

[12] In 1954–1955, Lloyd averaged career highs of 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 to win the 1955 NBA Championship.

[13] Regarding the racism black players faced in the early years of the NBA, Lloyd recalled being refused service multiple times and an incident where a fan in Indiana spit on him.

[14] In his NBA career with the Washington Capitols (1950–1951), Syracuse Nationals (1952–1958) and Detroit Pistons (1958–1960), Earl averaged 8.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 560 games over nine seasons.

[11] A 2–5 start to the following campaign resulted in Lloyd being relieved of his duties and replaced by assistant coach Ray Scott on October 28, 1972.

Lloyd is credited with helping draft Bailey Howell and discovering Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, Ray Scott and Wally Jones.

[11][19][8] After his basketball career, Lloyd worked during the 1970s and 1980s as a job placement administrator for the Detroit public school system.