List of basketball players who died during their careers information
This is a list of all notable basketball players who died while still on a team roster or as a free agent. A majority of them died in accidents such as cars 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.
^Lakkireddy, Dhanunjaya; Gunda, Sampath; Gopinathannair, Rakesh; Murtaza, Ghulam; Gunasekaran, Prasad; Bickel, Trenton (December 2019). "Sudden Cardiac Death in Famous Athletes, Lessons Learned, Heterogeneity in Expert Recommendations and Pitfalls of Contemporary Screening Strategies". Journal of Atrial Fibrillation. 12 (4): 2193. doi:10.4022/jafib.2193. PMC 7237076. PMID 32435342.
^Smith, Sam (October 16, 2005). "Collier's death raises NBA heart issue". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
^Baird, Nathan (March 4, 2014). "Purdue says Jay Simpson has career-ending heart condition". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 25, 2021. 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.
^Massop, Brian (June 19, 2014). "Death on the Basketball Court". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
^Smith, C. Fraser (March 14, 1995). "Big-Time Basketball: So Many Tragedies". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
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