Unfortunately, a basketball player collapsed and died while playing on the court.

Unfortunately, a basketball player collapsed and died while playing on the court.

Has a basketball player ever died on the court? Although athletes’ active lifestyles may represent health, many sports personalities have passed away. The NBA has seen its share of players who tragically died too soon, some from natural causes, off the court, for reasons that could have been avoided.

Several prominent NBA active basketball players have died throughout the years, bringing an unfortunate end to their youthful careers. Researchers and clinicians attribute NBA players’ deaths on the court to diseases such as Sudden Cardiac Death, Marfan’s disease, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Here is a list of some of the NBA players who have died.

Reggie was drafted into the NBA in 1987. He was the 22nd pick for the Boston Celtics during round 1 of the draft. He is one of the greatest NBA players of all time who died on the court.

The talented Celtics defender fiercely guarded the hoop giving the opposing team no chance. During a match with Chicago Bulls, the Celtics star swatted away four of Michael Jordan’s shots, leaving him with only 12 successful shots of 36 field attempts.

What happened to NBA legend Reggie Lewis?

In April 1993, Lewis collapsed during a game against theAfter a few minutes on the bench, he returned to the game but struggled to stay in the game.

Doctors later diagnosed the shooting guard with focal cardiomyopathy, a fatal heart condition that could end his career. Later, the diagnosis was changed to a non-fatal heart condition that causes fainting spells, Neurocardiogenic syncope. Then in July, the Northeastern Hall of Famer collapsed and died during off-season practice at the Brandeis University basketball court.

In addition to the American basketball scene, McRae dominated European basketball after successful stints in Turkey, Greece, Italy, and France. He also played for the famous Denver Nuggets and the University of Syracuse’s basketball team.

Although the Wahington Bullets’ power forward was drafted into the NBA, he never played in the League. According to Basketball-reference, his college basketball stats stood at 0.548% field goal percentage, 0.167% 3-point field goal percentage, 0.598% free throw percentage, and 778 overall points in 104 games.

McRae had his first fainting episode just before a game with the Nuggets and a second one during a stress test at the hospital. The Nuggets rookie was later diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia by the team’s cardiologist.

Although he was strongly advised to quit basketball, McRae left the Nuggets to play for Italy’s Pallacanestro Trieste and later entered the Southern California Summer Pro League. Unfortunately, he met his demise after collapsing while running sprints during practice for the Pro League game.