Nathaniel Sweetwater Clifton became the first Black player to sign a contract in the NBA when he signed with the New York Knickerbockers in 1950. Having already played for the New York Rens and ...

As a tenet of proof, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, who had spent many years toiling for the independent Harlem Globetrotters, didn't step foot on an NBA court to become its first African American ...