Lawrence Fleisher (September 26, 1930 – May 4, 1989) was an Americanattorney andsports agent.
Born inThe Bronx, New York, Fleisher, a 1953 graduate ofHarvard Law School, at the request ofprofessionalbasketball playerTom Heinsohn, helped found theNational Basketball Association Players’ Association, of which he would serve as president from 1962 to 1968, during which timepensions, minimum salaries, anddisability pay were secured for the membership.
For 19 additional years, Fleisher would continue to serve, without salary, asgeneral counsel for the Players’ Association, arguing beforeU.S. Congress and theNational Labor Relations Board to gain players the right offree agency, which right was eventually won in 1976.
Having guided players to theAmerican Basketball Association in the late 1960s, Fleisher later helped broker the merger between the ABA and NBA and worked to set up relationships between the NBA and professional leagues inEurope andSouth America; he would represent little-known foreign players as well as established American stars, includingBill Bradley,John Havlicek,Bob Lanier,Willis Reed, andJerry West, and, in an effort to promote basketball globally, would lead his clients on playing tours to Europe, South America, andAsia.
Prior to his 1987 retirement, Fleisher helped broker a labor agreement that installed asalary cap on NBA franchises and provided for penalties for players caught usinghard drugs.
He died from aheart attack after playingsquash at theNew York Athletic Club.
In recognition of his achievements in the game of basketball, Fleisher was inducted into theBasketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1991.
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