Gone Too Soon: Basketball Players Who Died Young
The 25th-year anniversary of Hank Gathers's death.
1 / 9
The 25th-Year Anniversary of Hank Gathers's Death - Today, March 4, marks the 25th-year anniversary of the untimely death of Hank Gathers. The Loyola Marymount forward dunked during a game on the same date back in 1990 and collapsed on the court a few seconds later due to a heart condition. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Gathers was just 23 years old with the best of his basketball career and life in front of him. Unfortunately Gathers is one of several hoop stars that left this world too soon. BET.com remembers the ballers who died young, none making it past the age of 35. Too young. Too soon.(Photos from Left: Tim de Frisco/Allsport/Getty Images, Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images, Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
2 / 9
Hank Gathers - Hank Gathers instantly put himself on the national basketball map at Loyola Marymount averaging 22.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game during his first season with the school back in 1987-88. In December 1989, the forward collapsed at the foul line and was later diagnosed with an abnormal heartbeat. He made it back to the court and quickly piled up more solid numbers, before March 4, 1990, rolled around and Gathers collapsed for the second time. This time, however, the collapse proved to be fatal. Gathers was only 23. It was later discovered that Gathers suffered from a heart-muscle disorder. His family filed a $32.5 million lawsuit against Loyola Marymount before the school settled for $1.4 million. (Photo: Tim de Frisco /Allsport/Getty Images)
3 / 9
Reggie Lewis - Reggie Lewis possessed all the tools necessary to be the next great Boston Celtics superstar in line. But a season after being named an NBA All-Star in 1992, the 6-foot-7 forward collapsed and died during an off-season practice in July 1993. He was 27. Lewis was discovered to have been suffering from a heart defect, which caused the collapse. (Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
4 / 9
Len Bias - Len Bias had the basketball world in the palm of his hands. Coming out of the University of Maryland, the small forward was tabbed by the Boston Celtics with the second overall pick of the 1986 NBA Draft. But just two days later that June, a cocaine overdose ended his life at only 22 years old. (Photo: Joel Richardson/Washington Post/Getty Images)
5 / 9
Drazen Petrovic - Drazen Petrovic wouldn't back down from Michael Jordan when his New Jersey Nets would face MJ's Chicago Bulls from 1991-93. But the sharpshooter's bright career and life was cut short due to a tragic car accident. He was 28.(Photo: Tim DeFrisco/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Tim DeFrisco/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
6 / 9
Bobby Phills - Charlotte Hornets teammates Bobby Phills and David Wesley were said to be racing — or at the least driving recklessly — when Phills, 30, lost control of his vehicle and drove it into oncoming traffic. The tough shooting guard was instantly killed, leaving behind his wife and their three children that January 2000 day. His number 13 was retired by the Hornets' organization. (Photo: Charlotte Hornets via Twitter)
7 / 9
Malik Sealy - Malik Sealy was returning home from Minnesota Timberwovles teammate Kevin Garnett's 21st birthday party back in May 2000, when a drunk driver, traveling in the wrong direction, smashed into Sealy's SUV. The NBA swing man died at the age of 30.(Photo: Stephen Dunn /Allsport/Getty Images)
8 / 9
Robert Traylor - After starring for the Michigan Wolverines from 1995-98, Robert "Tractor" Traylor became the epitome of a well-traveled, basketball journeyman. The hulking power forward played in the NBA, overseas in Europe, and in Mexico and Puerto Rico as well. He died of an apparent heart attack in May 2011 in Puerto Rico, where he was playing at the time. He was 34.(Photo: Sporting News via Getty Images)