Former Los Angeles Lakers center Elden Campbell died due to drowning, officials announced this week.
The ex-NBA champion passed away on Monday in Pompano Beach, Fla., and the manner of his death was “listed as an accident,” Broward County Chief of Investigative Services Thomas Steinkamp said in a statement on Friday.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office is further investigating the matter, Steinkamp added.
Campbell’s sister, Sandra, told The Post on Wednesday her brother had been out fishing just prior to his passing.
“It was all the sudden,” she said of Campbell’s death. “He wasn’t sick.”
Sandra went on to say she and the family didn’t want to speculate on what exactly caused the issue.
“He was such a big pillar and a staple to our family,” she said. “He’s going to be terribly missed.”
Campbell, a star at Clemson in the ’80s, was selected by the Lakers in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft.
He went on to play 15 years in the NBA, averaging 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
He won his lone championship in 2004 as a member of the Detroit Pistons.
Many of his former teammates paid homage to him in the days following his death, including Magic Johnson, who wrote on X that Campbell “was such a gentle soul.”
“As a basketball player, he was extremely athletic,” Johnson said. “I loved throwing lobs to Elden because he could jump out the gym and had so much talent! Cookie and I are praying for his family and Lakers Nation as they mourn during this difficult time. Rest in peace Big E!”
Campbell was 57 years old.
