Elden Campbell, a 15-year NBA veteran who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons, has died. He was 57 years old.
Clemson, where Campbell was a three-time All-ACC selection from 1986 to 1990 and remains the school’s all-time leading scorer, announced that he had died without offering other details.
A Los Angeles native, Campbell was drafted in the first round by his hometown Lakers in 1990, going on to play with franchise greats like Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, before he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 1999. He went on to stints with the Seattle SuperSonics, Pistons — who defeated the Lakers in the NBA Finals — and New Jersey Nets before retiring after the 2005 season.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of Elden Campbell’s passing,” Cliff Ellis, Campbell’s head coach at Clemson, said in a statement.
“Elden was an outstanding, giving person. This is a sad day for the Clemson family. Elden loved Clemson, he came back and supported the program after he retired. He exemplified what Clemson was all about.”
Cedric Ceballos, another former Laker, memorialized Campbell on Instagram.
“This one hurt to the bone,” he captioned a photo of a basketball card featuring the two of them. “Grew up as kids together. Rest BIG EASY.”
“Easy E. I know the whole Campbell family. His brother and sister went to Morningside and I played with his brother Elwayne,” Byron Scott, another former teammate, replied to Ceballos’ post. “This hurts. Sending my condolences to the family. RIP Easy.”
Campbell, a 6’11” bigman, averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds over 1,044 career games in 15 NBA seasons. He was part of the 2025 SoCal Basketball Hall of Fame Class.