Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon dies

Lemon, who was originally from North Carolina, had dreamed of playing for the entertainment basketball team since he was a boy. His dream came true in 1954 after leaving the Army.

A few years later, Lemon was the central player who helped build the team's reputation for on-the-court jokes and was eventually known as the Clown Prince of Basketball, according to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Lemon mastered half court hook shots, no-look behind-the-back passes and general clowning around.

He also would set his sights on the referees, usually taunting them with a bucket that many thought was water, but rather filled with confetti, The New York Times reported.

According to his official biography, Lemon played in more than 16,000 games over his career, averaging 350 games a year and logged more than 5 million miles.

He left the Globetrotters in 1978, after 26 season before starting his own teams, Meadowlark Lemon's Bucketeers, the Shooting Stars and finally Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars.

Lemon was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.