Lloyd was heavily recruited as an All-American High School player out of East Phoenix High School where he led the team to the 1971 state title.

Choosing to attend Arizona State, Lloyd (along with teammate and future NBA star Lionel Hollins) led the Sun Devils to the Western Athletic Conference title and was named All-American and team MVP his senior year when he averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and had a .535 shooting average. He played in the Aloha Classic all-star game in Hawaii following his senior season and was the last player cut from the 1976 U.S. Olympic team.

He was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 1976 NBA draft and averaged 5.8 ppg in 69 games his rookie season. The summer after his rookie campaign, Lloyd was named MVP of the Southern California Pro League where he averaged 23.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

He split his second season in the league between Milwaukee and the Buffalo Braves but still managed to appear in 70 games that season. He moved with the Braves to San Diego (where they became the Clippers) and was traded early in the year to the Chicago Bulls for a future draft choice.

In the 1979-1980 season, Lloyd played in Venice Italy. He returned signing with his original club, the Milwaukee Bucks during the summer of 1980 but was waived on October 20. Eight days later he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks.

During the 1980-1981 season with the expansion Mavs, Lloyd appeared in 72 games (starting 70) and finished the year third in rebounding (6.3), sixth in scoring (8.8) and second in minutes (30.4).

Lloyd quickly became a fan favorite during his years in Dallas and was actively involved in the community. He won a pizza eating contest at a local Shakey's Pizza after consuming a large cheese pizza in just five minutes. During the off-season he also defeated diminutive actor Billy Barty (who played a munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz") in a game of "Horse" as a promotion for the movie "Under The Rainbow" with the proceeds going to a Dallas recreation center.