Syracuse legend Lawrence Moten passes away at 53

Syracuse basketball legend Lawrence Moten passed away on Tuesday at the age of 53 according to multiple reports.

Widely considered to be one of the best players in program history, Moten played at SU from 1991-95, and left as Syracuse's all-time leading scorer at 2,334 points. His record stands to this day after his four-year career where he averaged 19.3 ppg.

Moten was previously a guest on Juice on the Cuse Podcast, where he discussed his playing days and coaching career. He recalled the first time he started after current Orange coach Adrian Autry went down with an injury in his freshman season.

Moten recalls his first college start

"I went looking for a payphone," Moten said. "I called my mother. And I said, 'Mom, I'm starting.' And I'll never forget the scream on her, the scream that she yelled. And I had to take my ear away from the phone.

"One of the words that stuck to me to this day, and I'll never forget it, my mother said, don't give it back. You know, and I never gave it back.”

He was previously the Big East Conference’s all-time scoring leader with 1,405 points before Marquette's Markus Howard passed him in the 2019-20 season.

Moten's jersey was retired at the Dome

Moten, who earned the nickname 'Poetry in Moten,' was a three-time First-Team All Big East selection and was a third-team All-American in the 1995 season. His No. 21 was retired by Syracuse.

"(The jersey retirement), that's definitely an honor," Moten said. "I take it as an honor and a blessing. It also lets me understand that hard work and dedication paid off."

He was taken with the 36th overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft and played three seasons in the NBA with the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards. He finished his NBA career with averages of 6.3 ppg and 1.5 apg.

Moten's post playing career

After his NBA career, he went on to play in the CBA, ABA and overseas in Spain and Venezuela. He later would move into front office positions with the ABA's Maryland Nighthawks and was also head coach of the Rochester Razorsharks of the PBL.

"I tell these guys, every day you step on the court, it's an audition," Moten said of his coaching style with the Razorsharks. "You never know who's watching. So you have to bring your A-game, man.”

Earlier in 2025, Moten was named the general manager for Digital Pioneers Academy, a high school in his native Washington, D.C.

The school is a public charter school that began in 2017, and brought him back to his roots, where he starred at nearby Archbishop Carroll High.

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