His Northeastern teams won the ECAC North all four seasons and played in the NCAA men's basketball tournament every year.

[3] He was a second cousin of PJ Dozier, who wore the jersey number 35 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder in honor of Lewis.

The Celtics were looking to add some youth to the team, especially for the aging "Big 3" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.

[8] On April 29, 1993, in Game 1 of the Celtics' playoff series against the Charlotte Hornets, Lewis collapsed on the court and remained on the ground for several seconds.

[9] The following day, Lewis checked into New England Baptist Hospital, where he underwent a series of tests by more than a dozen heart specialists, whom the Celtics called their "dream team" of doctors.

However, he later sought a second opinion from Dr. Gilbert Mudge at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who diagnosed Lewis with neurocardiogenic syncope, a less serious non-fatal condition instead.

[11] On July 27, 1993, during off-season practice at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, Lewis suffered sudden cardiac death on the basketball court at the age of 27.

[15][16][17] The Wall Street Journal reported that physicians "suspected that cocaine killed Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis...but they were thwarted by actions of his family and a 'dismissive' policy toward drugs by the NBA."

What is evident: The official cause of death, a heart damaged by a common-cold virus, is a medically nonsensical finding by a coroner who was under intense pressure from the Lewis family to exclude any implication of drug use.

"[21][22] Also, Lewis's heart tissue tested positive for adenovirus (a common virus that can cause a range of cold- or flu-like infections)[23] during his autopsy.