This is a list of basketball players with notable careers, who died while still on a team roster or a free agent. A majority died of accidents such as car or plane crashes. Some suffered sudden cardiac death, which has a higher incidence in basketball among young athletes.[1][2] Some suffered from the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,[3] which is more common in African Americans. Basketball has a considerably higher ratio of African-Americans than other sports.[4] Other deaths were caused by drug abuse.[5]
Included are players in the NBA, college, and other leagues. Players who died following the conclusion of their career should not be included. Players are listed with the team for which they last played before death, rather than the team with which the player spent most of their playing career.
Basketball teams may honor active players who died by bestowing upon them a posthumous honor of a retired number.
Name | Age | Position | Team | League | Retired number | Cause of Death | Year | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Davide Ancilotto | 23 | Shooting guard | Virtus Roma | Lega Basket Serie A | 4 | brain ischemia | 1997 | [6] |
Ricky Berry | 24 | Small forward | Sacramento Kings | NBA | 34 by San Jose State | suicide by gunshot | 1989 | [7] |
Len Bias | 22 | Small forward | Boston Celtics | NBA | heart attack | 1986 | [8] | |
Haris Brkić | 26 | Small forward | Partizan | YUBA | homicide by gunshot | 2000 | [9] | |
Gilbert Bulawan | 29 | Power forward / Center | Blackwater Elite | PBA | 11 | heart enlargement (collapsed during practice) | 2016 | [10] |
Terrence Clarke | 19 | Shooting guard | Kentucky Wildcats | NCAA | car crash | 2021 | [11] | |
Jason Collier | 28 | Center | Atlanta Hawks | NBA | heart condition | 2005 | [12] | |
Bryce Dejean-Jones | 23 | Shooting guard | New Orleans Pelicans | NBA | homicide by gunshot | 2016 | [13] | |
Patrick Dennehy | 21 | Center | Baylor Bears | NCAA | homicide by gunshot | 2003 | [14] | |
Wayne Estes | 21 | Forward | Utah State Aggies | NCAA | 33 | accidental electrocution | 1965 | [15] |
Lavelle Felton | 29 | Shooting guard | Paderborn Baskets | ProA | homicide by gunshot | 2009 | [16] | |
Scott Fenton | 24 | Shooting guard | Perth Wildcats | NBL | 14 | car crash | 1989 | [17] |
Ryan Francis | 19 | Point guard | USC Trojans | NCAA | homicide by gunshot | 2003 | [18] | |
Oscar Frayer | 23 | Forward | Grand Canyon Antelopes | NCAA | car crash | 2021 | [19] | |
Terry Furlow | 25 | Small forward / Shooting guard | Utah Jazz | NBA | car crash | 1980 | [20] | |
Hank Gathers | 23 | Forward | Loyola Marymount Lions | NCAA | 44 | heart condition (collapsed during game) | 1990 | [21] |
Eddie Griffin | 25 | Power forward / Center | Minnesota Timberwolves | NBA | car crash | 2007 | [22] | |
Huck Hartman | 25 | Center | Youngstown Bears | NBL | pneumonia | 1946 | [23] | |
Lauren Hill | 19 | Forward | Mount St. Joseph Lions | NCAA | brain cancer | 2015 | [24] | |
Tyler Honeycutt | 27 | Small forward | BC Khimki | EuroLeague | suicide by gunshot | 2018 | [25] | |
Stevan Jelovac | 32 | Power forward / Center | AEK Athens | Greek Basket League | 13 | stroke (collapsed during practice) | 2021 | [26] |
Radivoj Korać | 30 | Power forward | Petrarca Padova | Serie A | car crash | 1969 | [27] | |
Connie Kunzmann | 24 | Forward | Nebraska Wranglers | WPBL | homicide by stabbing | 1981 | [28] | |
Wendell Ladner | 26 | Forward | New York Nets | ABA | 4 (informally) | plane crash | 1975 | [29] |
Reggie Lewis | 27 | Small forward | Boston Celtics | NBA | 35 | cardiac arrest secondary to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (collapsed during practice) | 1993 | [30] |
Fernando Martín Espina | 27 | Power forward / Center | Real Madrid Baloncesto | Liga ACB | 10 | car crash | 1989 | [31] |
Jovan Manović | 29 | Point guard | AS Prishtina | KBS | homicide by gunshot | 2007 | [32] | |
Conrad McRae | 29 | Power forward / Center | Orlando Magic | NBA | heart enlargement (collapsed during practice) | 2000 | [33][34] | |
Fab Melo | 26 | Center | Brasília | NBB | heart attack (died in sleep) | 2017 | [35] | |
Michael Ojo | 27 | Center | Crvena zvezda | ABA | heart attack (collapsed during practice) | 2020 | [36] | |
Kim Perrot | 32 | Point guard | Houston Comets | WNBA | 10; 12 by Ragin' Cajuns | lung cancer | 1999 | [37] |
Dražen Petrović | 28 | Shooting guard | New Jersey Nets | NBA | 3; 10 by Cibona | car crash | 1993 | [38] |
Bobby Phills | 30 | Shooting guard | Charlotte Hornets | NBA | 13 | car crash | 2000 | [39] |
Slobodan Popović | 24 | Forward | Crvena zvezda | Yugoslav League | groin injury complication | 1968 | [40] | |
John Postley | 30 | Forward/Center | Wilkes-Barre Barons | EPBL | heart attack | 1970 | [41] | |
Katrina Price | 23 | Shooting guard | Philadelphia Rage | ABL | suicide by gunshot | 1999 | [42] | |
Bill Robinzine | 29 | Power forward | Utah Jazz | NBA | suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning | 1982 | [43] | |
Malik Sealy | 30 | Small forward / Shooting guard | Minnesota Timberwolves | NBA | 2 | car crash | 2000 | [44] |
Marvin Stone | 26 | Center | Al-Ittihad | SPL | heart attack (collapsed during halftime) | 2008 | [45] | |
Chris Street | 20 | Power forward | Iowa Hawkeyes | NCAA | 40 | car crash | 1993 | [46] |
Tauras Stumbrys | 34 | Point guard | Atletas Kaunas | LKL | heart attack (collapsed during the match) | 2004 | [47] | |
Örlygur Aron Sturluson | 18 | Point guard | Njarðvík | Úrvalsdeild karla | accidental fall | 2000 | [48] | |
Robert Traylor | 34 | Power forward / Center | Vaqueros de Bayamón | BSN | heart attack | 2011 | [49] | |
Zeke Upshaw | 26 | Small forward | Grand Rapids Drive | G League | cardiac arrest (collapsed during game) | 2018 | [50] | |
Nick Vanos | 24 | Center | Phoenix Suns | NBA | 32 by Santa Clara Broncos | plane crash | 1987 | [51] |
Luciano Vendemini | 24 | Center | ChinaMartini Torino | Lega Basket Serie A | 7 by ChinaMartini Torino | heart failure (undiagnosed Marfan's syndrome) | 1977 | [52] |
Fourteen members of the 1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team died in a plane crash on December 13 1977, along with fifteen others including head coach Bobby Watson. The players killed were:
Freshman David Furr, the lone member of the team who did not board Air Indiana Flight 216, died two weeks later in a car crash, meaning all the members of the team died during the 1977–78 season.[53]
Purdue announced Tuesday night that Simpson's basketball career is over. Tests discovered a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- the same condition that led to the deaths of basketball stars Hank Gathers, Reggie Lewis, Kevin Duckworth and Jason Collier.
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