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The death of NBA champion and Clemson great Elden Campbell was ruled an accidental drowning after the basketball icon reportedly suffered a medical emergency during a fishing trip.
Campbell’s death was first confirmed Tuesday by Clemson officials and family members.
Elden Campbell (41) of the Detroit Pistons is in action against Shaquille O’Neal (32) of the Miami Heat in Miami, Florida on May 25, 2005. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Elden Campbell,” Campbell’s head coach at Clemson, Cliff Ellis, said in a statement provided by the university. “Elden was a great player for four years, especially in 1989-90, when he was a big reason we won Clemson’s only ACC regular season championship. He went on to a 15-year NBA career and won a world championship.”
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“But above all, Elden was an exceptional and generous person. This is a sad day for the Clemson family. Elden loved Clemson, he came back and supported the program after his retirement. He exemplified what Clemson was all about.”
Days later, Broward County officials confirmed Popular magazine that the former NBA pro, aged 57, died on Monday “following a drowning”. The death was ruled accidental after Campbell reportedly suffered a medical emergency while fishing.
Campbell’s sister, Sandra, said The New York Post that he was not ill at the time of his death.
Elden Campbell (41) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a free throw during an NBA basketball game against the Washington Bullets at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland on November 26, 1994. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
NBA CHAMPION AND CLEMSON GREAT ELDEN CAMPBELL DEAD AT 57
“It was all of a sudden,” she told the outlet. “He wasn’t sick. He was fishing.”
His family later released a statement confirming that he died “doing what he loved.”
“Elden was a man of faith who trusted in his Lord and savior Jesus Christ,” the statement read. “Husband, father, brother, cousin and friend. He was a man to whom family meant everything: generous, funny, disciplined and kind, but who could shut you up when necessary. A man of God, he did what he loved: fishing on the ocean, enjoying his idea of an ideal day.”
Kwame Brown (right) of the Washington Wizards knocks the ball away from Elden Campbell (left) of the Charlotte Hornets in the second half at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 5, 2002. (NELL REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
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Campbell played 15 seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Los Angeles Lakers. He went on to win a championship with the Detroit Pistons.
He also helped the Tigers win the 1989-90 ACC regular season title and reach the Sweet 16 before being selected in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft by his hometown Lakers.
