Lloyd Daniels

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title: "Lloyd Daniels" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1967-births", "living-people", "aek-b.c.-players", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-canada", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-greece", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-italy", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-new-zealand", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-portugal", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-turkey", "american-expatriate-basketball-people-in-venezuela", "american-men's-basketball-players", "andrew-jackson-high-school-(queens)-alumni", "baltimore-bayrunners-players", "fort-wayne-fury-players", "galatasaray-s.k.-(men's-basketball)-players", "greek-basket-league-players", "idaho-stampede-(cba)-players", "los-angeles-lakers-players", "limoges-csp-players", "mt.-sac-mounties-men's-basketball-players", "new-jersey-nets-players", "parade-high-school-all-americans-(boys'-basketball)", "philadelphia-76ers-players", "quad-city-thunder-players", "sacramento-kings-players", "san-antonio-spurs-players", "shooting-guards", "basketball-players-from-brooklyn", "street-basketball-players", "toronto-raptors-players", "trenton-shooting-stars-players", "undrafted-nba-players", "victoria-libertas-pallacanestro-players", "united-states-basketball-league-players"] description: "American basketball player" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Daniels" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American basketball player ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox basketball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Lloyd Daniels
birth_date
birth_place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
height_ft	6
height_in	7
weight_lbs	205
high_school	Andrew Jackson
(Queens, New York)
college	Mt. SAC (1986–1987)
draft_year	1988
career_start	1987
career_end	2006
career_number	24, 44, 25
career_position	Shooting guard
years1	1987–1988
team1	Topeka Sizzlers
years2	1988
team2	Waitemata Dolphins
years3	1989–1990
team3	Quad City Thunder
years4	1991
team4	Miami Tropics
years5	1991–1992
team5	Greensboro City Gaters
years6	1992
team6	Long Island Surf
years7	–
team7	San Antonio Spurs
years8
team8	Philadelphia 76ers
years9	1995
team9	Limoges CSP
years10
team10	Los Angeles Lakers
years11	1995
team11	Fort Wayne Fury
years12	1995–1996
team12	Scavolini Pesaro
years13
team13	Sacramento Kings
years14
team14	New Jersey Nets
years15	1997
team15	Fort Wayne Fury
years16	1997–1999
team16	Polluelos de Aibonito
years17
team17	Toronto Raptors
years18	1998
team18	Galatasaray S.K.
years19	1998
team19	Idaho Stampede
years20	1998–1999
team20	AEK B.C.
years21	1999
team21	Sioux Falls Skyforce
years22	1999–2000
team22	Baltimore BayRunners
years23	2000
team23	Trenton Shooting Stars
years24	2000
team24	Long Island Surf
years25	2001
team25	Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs
years26	2001–2002
team26	Panteras de Miranda
years27	2001–2002
team27	Scafati Basket
years28	2002–2003
team28	Ovarense Basquetebol
years29	2005–2006
team29	Strong Island Sound
::

| name = Lloyd Daniels | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 7 | weight_lbs = 205 | high_school = Andrew Jackson (Queens, New York) | college = Mt. SAC (1986–1987) | draft_year = 1988 | career_start = 1987 | career_end = 2006 | career_number = 24, 44, 25 | career_position = Shooting guard | years1 = 1987–1988 | team1 = Topeka Sizzlers | years2 = 1988 | team2 = Waitemata Dolphins | years3 = 1989–1990 | team3 = Quad City Thunder | years4 = 1991 | team4 = Miami Tropics | years5 = 1991–1992 | team5 = Greensboro City Gaters | years6 = 1992 | team6 = Long Island Surf | years7 = – | team7 = San Antonio Spurs | years8 = | team8 = Philadelphia 76ers | years9 = 1995 | team9 = Limoges CSP | years10 = | team10 = Los Angeles Lakers | years11 = 1995 | team11 = Fort Wayne Fury | years12 = 1995–1996 | team12 = Scavolini Pesaro | years13 = | team13 = Sacramento Kings | years14 = | team14 = New Jersey Nets | years15 = 1997 | team15 = Fort Wayne Fury | years16 = 1997–1999 | team16 = Polluelos de Aibonito | years17 = | team17 = Toronto Raptors | years18 = 1998 | team18 = Galatasaray S.K. | years19 = 1998 | team19 = Idaho Stampede | years20 = 1998–1999 | team20 = AEK B.C. | years21 = 1999 | team21 = Sioux Falls Skyforce | years22 = 1999–2000 | team22 = Baltimore BayRunners | years23 = 2000 | team23 = Trenton Shooting Stars | years24 = 2000 | team24 = Long Island Surf | years25 = 2001 | team25 = Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs | years26 = 2001–2002 | team26 = Panteras de Miranda | years27 = 2001–2002 | team27 = Scafati Basket | years28 = 2002–2003 | team28 = Ovarense Basquetebol | years29 = 2005–2006 | team29 = Strong Island Sound | highlights =

• All-CBA Second Team (1995)
• GBA All-League Team (1992)
• GBA All-Star Game MVP (1992)
• First-team Parade All-American (1986) Lloyd Daniels (born September 4, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Swee'Pea", he played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors.

Early life

Daniels was born on September 4, 1967, to Lloyd and Judy Daniels. His mother contracted uterine cancer shortly after his birth and died when Daniels was aged three. His father subsequently turned to alcohol and disappeared from Daniels' life. Daniels was raised by his two grandmothers who lived in Hollis, Queens, and Brooklyn.

Daniels struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia, transferred high schools multiple times and played little prep basketball because of academic troubles.

Daniels played for an entire season at Andrew Jackson High School as a junior when he averaged 31.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game. Daniels dropped out of high school the day after his junior season ended.

College career

Daniels attracted the attention of UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach Jerry Tarkanian. He was ineligible to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) so Tarkanian helped Daniels receive admission to Mt. San Antonio College to improve his academics. He played one game for Mt. San Antonio's basketball team but quit to focus on improving his reading proficiency.

On February 9, 1987, Daniels was arrested for buying crack cocaine from an undercover policeman. Although Tarkanian was known for taking in troubled players, this incident was too much even for him, and Tarkanian announced that Daniels would never play for UNLV. It later emerged that Daniels had first been led to UNLV by Richard Perry, who had been convicted twice for sports bribery. Perry's involvement resulted in an NCAA investigation that ultimately forced Tarkanian to resign.

Later one of Tarkanian's assistants, Mark Warkentien, became Daniels' legal guardian.

Professional career

After a court-ordered rehabilitation stint, Daniels started his career with the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). He then signed with Waitemata in New Zealand. Both stints ended prematurely due to issues with drugs and alcohol so he voluntarily entered a rehabilitation program in Van Nuys, California, that was frequented by basketball players.

After recovering from a 1989 shooting that nearly killed him, Daniels returned to playing basketball in 1991 with the Miami Tropics of the United States Basketball League (USBL). Daniels was invited to the San Antonio Spurs training camp in 1992 by new head coach Tarkanian.

Daniels played for six NBA teams: the Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets, and Toronto Raptors.{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1995/02/23/lakers-sign-lloyd-daniels/ |title=Lakers sign Lloyd Daniels |website=Tampa Bay Times |date=February 23, 1995 |access-date=September 15, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/jerry-tarkanian-fired-as-head-coach-of-the-san-antonio-spurs-after-9-11-start-in-1992 |title=Jerry Tarkanian fired as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs after 9-11 start in 1992 |website=WOAI |date=December 17, 2020 |access-date=September 15, 2024}} Daniels played for the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA during the 1994–95 season and was selected to the All-CBA Second Team. He also played in Italy with Scavolini Pesaro during the 1995–96 season.

He also played overseas in Greece with AEK Athens BC and in Turkey with Galatasaray.

In October 2005, Daniels tried out for the Strong Island Sound of the American Basketball Association.

Personal life

Daniels' nickname, Swee'Pea, is a reference to the Popeye cartoon character of the same name.

On May 11, 1989, Daniels was shot in the chest and neck during a drug-related shooting.

Daniels has three children. His son, Lloyd, played college basketball at Lubbock Christian University.

Daniels lives in New Jersey where he coaches AAU basketball.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 77 || 10 || 20.4 || .443 || .333 || .727 || 2.8 || 1.9 || .5 || .4 || 9.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 65 || 5 || 15.1 || .376 || .352 || .719 || 1.7 || 1.4 || .4 || .2 || 5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 5 || 0 || 12.6 || .333 || .214 || 1.000 || 1.4 || .8 || .4 || .0 || 4.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 25 || 15 || 21.6 || .390 || .267 || .800 || 2.2 || 1.4 || .8 || .4 || 7.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento | 5 || 0 || 5.6 || .125 || .182 || || .8 || .2 || .2 || .0 || 1.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 17 || 0 || 16.6 || .330 || .322 || .833 || 2.3 || 1.5 || .5 || .2 || 5.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Toronto | 6 || 0 || 13.7 || .414 || .222 || .800 || 1.2 || .7 || .5 || .3 || 5.7 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 200 || 29 || 17.7 || .403 || .316 || .743 || 2.2 || 1.6 || .5 || .3 || 7.1

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|1993 | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 8 || 0 || 9.3 || .367 || .143 || .833 || 1.9 || .3 || .4 || .0 || 3.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1994 | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 4 || 0 || 16.5 || .400 || .500 || 1.000 || 2.3 || .8 || .0 || .3 || 5.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 12 || 0 || 11.7 || .380 || .333 || .875 || 2.0 || .4 || .3 || .1 || 4.2

References

References

1. (1990). "Swee'Pea and Other Playground Legends: Tales of Drugs, Violence and Basketball". M. Kesend Pub..
2. (February 11, 1987). "UNLV's Daniels Arrested on Drug Charges".
3. (December 13, 2000). "Bayno, Tark deserve same medicine".
4. (March 29, 1989). "Times says UNLV players got gambler's cash".
5. (June 8, 1991). "Tarkanian to quit UNLV after 1991–92 season".
6. (February 24, 1992). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Tarkanian Rescinds His Decision to Resign".
7. (February 24, 1992). "Tarkanian Changes His Mind : Basketball: UNLV coach rescinds resignation, but university president says he will not allow it.".
8. (December 21, 1990). "Confronted With New Charges, U.N.L.V. Braces for Old Battle". [[The New York Times]].
9. (May 20, 1988). "New Zealand Basketball Federation Ousts Lloyd Daniels".
10. (January 7, 1998). "Daniels Tries Again with the Raptors".
11. "Lloyd Daniels minor league basketball statistics".
12. "Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro Roster, Schedule, Stats (1995-1996) {{!}} Proballers".
13. "MySA.com: Courtside: The San Antonio Spurs Blog".
14. (March 11, 2022). "Polishing a legacy: Daniels, learning from his dad, is making all the right moves".
15. (April 2, 2014). "Lloyd Daniels: Born Again".
16. (July 18, 2016). "Documentary Examines the Downfall of Former Spurs Guard Lloyd Daniels".

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