Lawrence Moten: 1972-2025

Cover Photo: Syracuse Orangemen guard Lawrence Moten shoots a jump shot in a game against Providence on February 8, 1995. Moten, Syracuse men’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer, passed away on September 30, 2025 at the age of 53.

The basketball community lost a Syracuse legend on September 30 with the passing of former Orangemen great Lawrence Moten at age 53.

A 6 foot, 5 inch guard from Washington D.C., Moten played for the Orangemen from 1991-95. He was 1st team All-Big East in the 1992-93, 1993-94, and 1994-95 seasons. He was named to the All-Big East 3rd team as a freshman, a season in which he averaged 18.2 points (49.7%) and 6.0 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game and won 1991-92 Big East Rookie of the Year honors. As a junior, Moten averaged 21.5 points (50.1%) and 4.5 rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game. In 121 college games (he failed to score in double figures in just three of them), he averaged 19.3 points on 48.3% shooting in 34.2 minutes per game on 14.3 attempts on average. He is the only player in school history to score at least 500 points in four straight seasons. The Orangemen made the NCAA Tournament twice in Moten’s career (1994, 1995). His 2,334 career points at Syracuse are No. 1 all-time in school history, 191 points ahead of Derrick Coleman. 

In 1995, Moten was drafted 36th overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. Moten played three seasons in the NBA, averaging 6.6 points per game as a rookie and 6.7 points in his second season. He spent the 1997-98 season with the Washington Wizards. Moten played from 1997-98 in Greece and with the La Crosse Bobcats of the Continental Basketball Association. He played from 1998-99 with the Idaho Stampede of the CBA, spent 2000-01 with the Saskatchewan Hawks of the International Basketball League, 2002 with the Mobile Revelers of the NBA Development League, and also played in Spain and Venezuela in his career. From 2004-2006, Moten played for the Maryland Nighthawks of the American Basketball Association (the new ABA, formed in 1999). With the Nighthawks, Moten was a 2005 and 2006 All-Star. Post-retirement, he had worked in youth programs in Syracuse and was the General Manager of boys’ and girls’ teams at Digital Pioneers Academy in Washington, D.C. He also worked as an NBA and WNBA player development specialist. 

Poetry in Moten. RIP.