A number of Campbell’s former teammates — including Byron Scott and Cedric Ceballos — paid tribute to the center Tuesday. Campbell’s cause of death is not known at this time.
After a standout college career at Clemson, Campbell was selected by his hometown Lakers with the No. 27 overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft. Campbell grew up in Los Angeles and attended Morningside High School in Inglewood before playing at Clemson.
Though Campbell didn’t see much playing time as a rookie — averaging just 7.3 minutes and 2.8 points per game — he nearly won a title in his first year. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals during the 1990-91 season, where the team fell to the Chicago Bulls.
The next season, Campbell took on a much bigger role, playing 23.2 minutes per game and upping his scoring output to 7.1 points per game. He showed steady improvement from there, increasing his points per game every year during his first seven seasons in the NBA. Campbell developed into a full-time starter with the team during the 1993-94 season, his fourth in the NBA.
The Lakers didn’t experience much postseason success over that period, but help was on the way. In 1996, the Lakers acquired Kobe Bryant in a draft-day trade and signed Shaquille O’Neal to a seven-year deal. The Lakers showed promise that season, but Campbell didn’t stick around long enough to see Bryant and O’Neal blossom into one of the game’s most dominant duos.
The following year, Campbell was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. He put up solid numbers with the team, but missed out on the Lakers’ three-peat. Campbell remained with the Hornets until 2002 — when the team moved to New Orleans. That year, he was traded to the Seattle Supersonics, where he played in 15 games as a reserve.
Article Appeared @https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/elden-campbell-former-lakers-first-round-pick-who-won-championship-with-pistons-dies-at-57-140248110.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&segment_id=DY_VTO_CORE&ncid=crm_19908-1475736-20251204-0–A&bt_ee=uq95gchh746lTKpqmyy1xlFfxhmFYxj36BTv49T3T2bM%2FZ7hhonkDqd8iRyQRE86&bt_ts=1764864277897