Happy 65th Birthday, Lafayette “Fat” Lever
- Jake C
- Aug 18
- 7 min read
Cover photo: Denver Nuggets’ guard Fat Lever goes in for a layup against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1988-89 NBA season. Photo credit: Getty Images.
One of the most complete guards of his era celebrates a birthday on August 18 as 2-time all-star and former All-Defensive team member Fat Lever turns 65.
Born Lafayette Lever in Pine Bluff, Ark., Fat’s nickname originated from his brother, Elmore, not being able to pronounce Lafayette growing up.
Lever played his high school ball at Pueblo High School in Tucson, Ariz. He was an all-state player there while leading his school to consecutive state championships. In the 1977-78 year, Pueblo’s 28 victories were by an average margin of 28.6 points per game. In 1998 the gym at Pueblo was named after Lever. He was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
In four years at Arizona State, Lever started 88 of 113 games. In his junior and senior seasons, he averaged 37.1 and 38.2 minutes per game. His averages as a junior were 11.6 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.6 steals, the latter which led the NCAA. As a senior, his shot attempts per game increased from 9.3 to 13.2 (he connected on 45.4%), and his point-per-game average jumped nearly five points to 16.3, with 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.8 steals. In his college career, Lever was twice named to the All-Pac-10 team.
Lever was taken 11th overall in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, in a draft that yielded seven future all-stars in Lever, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Ricky Pierce, Mark Eaton, Terry Cummings, and Sleepy Floyd.
The Blazers had won 42 games in ‘81-‘82, and improved on that mark to win 46 games in Lever’s rookie season. Lever started 45 of 81 games as a rookie, and averaged 7.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals in 24.9 minutes per game. In his second season, Lever started 22 of his 81 games played and averaged 9.7 points, 4.6 assists, and 1.7 steals in 24.8 minutes per game. On 8.7 shot attempts per game, Lever made 44.7% of his field-goal tries.
In the offseason after his second NBA campaign, Lever was dealt along with Calvin Natt, Wayne Cooper, a first-round pick and second-round pick to the Denver Nuggets. In exchange, the Blazers received scoring forward Kiki VanDeWeghe.
In Denver, Lever joined a team that was led by 31-year-old super scorer Alex English and that had 14-year veteran Dan Issel in the middle. Playing in head coach Doug Moe’s uptempo system, Lever excelled with the league’s top scoring offense (120 points per game). The third-year guard was now a full-time starter playing all 82 games, and registered 12.8 points (43.0% shooting on 12 shot attempts), 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in 31.2 minutes. The Nuggets won 52 games and made the 1985 Western Conference Finals where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one.
Sixteen times in the ‘84-‘85 regular season, Lever recorded a double-double. In a game against the Indiana Pacers on March 9, he recorded 13 points, 15 assists, and 10 steals. He registered two games of 18 assists - one with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals on November 6 against the Lakers, and one on April 10 against the Los Angeles Clippers where in addition to his 18 dimes he posted 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Fat Lever Double-Doubles in 1985 Playoffs
Game 1 First Round vs. SAS: 15 points (6-of-9 FG), 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 32 mins
Game 2 First Round vs. SAS: 22 points (7-of-15 FG, 8-of-10 FT), 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 38 mins
Game 1 WCSF vs. Utah: 19 points (8-of-14 FG), 18 assists, 16 rebounds, 39 mins
Game 2 WCSF vs. Utah: 22 points (5-of-16 FG, 12-of-12 FT), 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 39 mins
In the ‘85-‘86 season, Lever started 77 of 78 games and played 33.5 minutes per game. He made 44.1% of his 13.6 shot attempts per game and averaged 13.8 points to go along with 7.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals. The Nuggets won 47 games and lost in the Conference Semifinals in six games to the Houston Rockets.
Lever recorded a double-double eighteen times in the ‘85-‘86 season, with one triple-double. The 25-year-old posted the triple-double on November 27, 1985 against the Golden State Warriors, a game in which he tallied 14 points (5-of-13), 14 assists, and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes. In Game 4 of the Nuggets’ first round series against the Trail Blazers, Lever helped his team advance with 30 points (12-of-20 shooting) in 40 minutes in the 116-112 win.
From the ‘86-‘87 through the ‘89-‘90 season, Lever averaged at least 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals per game, becoming one of the best playmaking guards on both ends of the floor.
Fat Lever Stats: 1986-87 through 1989-90
1986-87: 18.9 points (46.9%, 16.7 FGA) , 8.9 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 37.2 minutes, 82 games, All-NBA 2nd team, 9th in MVP voting
The Nuggets won 37 games and lost to the Lakers 3-0 in the first round. For the regular season, Lever tallied thirty double-doubles and sixteen triple-doubles. From January 24 to January 29, 1987, he posted three straight triple-doubles, the first of which he scored a season-high 36 points (14-of-24 FG, 8-of-10 FT) with 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the Trail Blazers. Three times in the regular season, he posted at least 30 points. In Game 2 against the Lakers, he registered 26 points (10-of-22 FG), 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals.
1987-88: 18.9 points (47.3%, 16.6 FGA), 8.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.7 steals, 37.3 minutes, 82 games, All-Star, All-Defensive 2nd team, 5th in DPOY voting, 9th in MVP voting
The Nuggets won 54 games and their 116.7 points per game was the best mark in the league. They defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 3-2 in the first round and lost four games to two to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Lever recorded 10 regular season triple-doubles, including 20 points (10-of-23), 20 rebounds, 12 assists, and 6 steals in 42 minutes on March 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Twenty-eight times, he recorded a double-double. On April 5 against the Houston Rockets, Lever recorded 22 points, 21 rebounds, and 7 assists. He recorded one triple-double in the ‘88 playoffs, a game of 11 points (5-of-12), 12 assists, and 11 rebounds in 43 minutes in Game 1 against the Mavericks. He scored 30 points with 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals in Game 3 against the Mavericks.
1988-89: 19.8 points (45.7%, 17.2 FGA), 9.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 2.7 steals, 38.7 minutes, 71 games, 7th in DPOY voting
The Nuggets finished with a 44-38 record and lost 3-0 to the Phoenix Suns in the first round. In the regular season, Lever posted 28 double-doubles. He also recorded nine triple-doubles, the most eye-popping of which was a performance of 15 points, 23 assists, and 13 rebounds (and 5 steals) on April 21 against the Warriors. In Game 1 against the Suns, Lever posted 20 points, 17 assists, 12 rebounds, and 4 steals.
1989-90: 18.3 points (44.3%, 16.2 FGA), 9.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 35.8 minutes, 79 games, All-Star
The Nuggets won 43 games and lost to the San Antonio Spurs 3-0 in the first round. In the regular season, Lever posted 32 double-doubles and five triple-doubles. On November 20 against the Spurs, Lever registered another other-worldly stat line for a 6 foot, 3 inch guard - 20 points, 22 rebounds, and 11 assists. In Game 2 of the playoff series against the Spurs, Lever posted 26 points, 16 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. He put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals in Game 3.
During the 1990 offseason, Lever was dealt to the Mavericks in exchange for two first-round draft picks. The 30-year-old injured his knee and appeared in just four games during the ‘90-‘91 season. In ‘91-‘92, Lever started five of 31 games and averaged 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. He missed all of the ‘92-‘93 season due to knee issues before returning for one final season in ‘93-‘94. In his final campaign, Lever averaged 6.9 points in 24.0 minutes in 54 starts of 81 games played.
Despite injuries heavily impacting his time with the Mavericks, Lever made himself known through his career with the Nuggets as one of the best and most complete guards in the game. His rebounding numbers were beyond impressive for a 6 foot 3 inch guard of his size, and his stealth ability on the defensive end at the point guard spot made him a feared player at a time when point guards had more size than he did.
In six seasons with the Nuggets, Lever started 473 of 474 games and played an average of 35.6 minutes per night. In those minutes, he registered 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.5 steals. He shot 45.4% from the field on 15.4 shot attempts on average and also made 78% of his free-throws with the Nuggets. Overall in his career, Lever posted 13.9 points, 6.2 steals, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals on 44.7% from the field (12.6 attempts) in 31.7 minutes per game. He started 599 out of 752 career games.
In 2017, the Nuggets retired Lever’s No. 12 jersey. His 43 triple-doubles there are second in franchise history and the 13th most in NBA history.
On The Outlet podcast in 2019, former Suns’ legend and Lever opponent Tom Chambers said of the unique guard:
“Fat was terrific. This guy was a triple-double before triple-doubles were a thing. He was a point guard in Denver, and he played with a bunch of guys who scored. He kept them all happy. He was the guy that made it all go in the assists category, and also out-rebound all those big guys. A tough, tough guard.”
Said English, a teammate of Lever’s for six seasons in Denver and one (‘89-‘90) in Dallas:
“Fat Lever was a triple-double waiting to happen. And he was kind of slighter build. He I liked playing with.”
Happy 65th, Fat Lever.
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