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NBA champion and former Los Angeles Lakers center Elden Campbell has died at age 57, his alma mater Clemson announced Wednesday.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
“We mourn the loss of Elden Campbell, our leading scorer, All-American and three-time All-ACC player, who passed away at the age of 57,” Clemson said in a statement.
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Elden Campbell (41) of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a foul shot during an NBA basketball game against the Washington Bullets at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland on November 26, 1994. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Campbell is also the winningest player in Clemson history as he played in a program record 84 wins. He is also the leading scorer on the lone Clemson team to win the ACC Championship in program history.
Campbell played in the NBA for 15 seasons and grew up in Inglewood, California, a Lakers fan as a child. The 6-foot-11 center played eight and a half seasons for his boyhood team.
The Lakers drafted Campbell in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft out of Clemson.
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Detroit Pistons’ Elden Campbell (41) is in action against Miami Heat’s Shaquille O’Neal (32) in Miami, Florida on May 25, 2005. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Campbell beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals when he was a member of the Detroit Pistons in the 2003-2004 season. Campbell played in 14 games during the Pistons’ run to the title.
Campbell played for six different teams in his career: Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Pistons, New Orleans Hornets, Seattle SuperSonics and New Jersey Nets. In 1,044 career games, he averaged 10.3 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game and 1.1 assists per game.
Campbell earned the nicknames “Big E” and “Easy E” for his demeanor and playing style. Byron Scott, who was teammates with Campbell in two separate stints with the Lakers, said he was a “good guy.”
“I just remember his demeanor. That’s why we nicknamed him ‘Easy E,'” Scott told The Los Angeles Times. “He was just so cool, nothing rushed him. He would take his time. He was just easy. He was such a good guy. I loved Easy, man.”
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Washington Wizards’ Kwame Brown (right) knocks the ball away from Charlotte Hornets’ Elden Campbell (left) during the second half at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 5, 2002. (NELL REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Another of Campbell’s former Lakers teammates and childhood friend, Cedric Ceballos, took to social media to mourn his death.
“This one hurt to the bone. Grew up as kids together,” Ceballos wrote on Instagram.
