Former NBA Player Darius Morris Deceased at 33

[Symmachus]

Sports Symmachus, Vol. 2 No. 6

The NBA community has lost one of its own.

Darius Morris, a former Los Angeles Lakers point guard who also played with several other teams in the league about a decade ago, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 33 years old.

"With great sadness we announce the passing of our dearly beloved son, Darius Aaron Morris," the athlete's family said in a statement to TMZ Sports May 4. "During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."

The cause of Morris' death was not revealed. E! News has reached out to a rep for Morris and has not heard back.

The Los Angeles-born basketball player played with the University of Michigan's Wolverines before being drafted by the Lakers in 2011.

In 2013, Morris was reassigned to NBA G League team the Los Angeles D-Fenders. In 2014, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers as well as the Memphis Grizzlies on short-term contracts. He then joined the San Antonio Spurs and later, the Portland Trail Blazers before they waived him that October. Two months later, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets, playing with the team until mid-2015.

After leaving the NBA, Morris spent time on other NBA G League teams, including the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and also was a player on teams in foreign leagues, such as the Chinese Basketball Association's Guangdong Southern Tigers and most recently, the French LNB Pro A's BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque in 2020.

Former Lakers player Darius Morris dead at 33

Darius Morris, a former NBA player who played for teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, has passed away.

www.nbcnewyork.com

Clearly a devastating situation for his family. He is not that much older than I am, and I had not heard this dude's name in a few years.

His NBA career was marginal, yes, playing for five teams in four years and scoring 430 points in 132 games (3.3 PPG). His professional basketball career helped him travel in many places, an helped make him unique. He apparently had not been on any team since 2020, with his last stint being with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque in Gravelines, France.

In his second year in college, he tallied 235 assists in 35 games (6.7 apg), a good enough mark for fourth all time, and Michigan's all-time record at the time.

His cause of death around May 2 nor relevant circumstances have been publicly announced at this time. This is the second premature death of a Los Angeles Lakers alumni* in the 2020s; with the first, of course, being that of Kobe Bryant in the helicopter crash. Noteworthy is that Morris was also from Los Angeles.

Pray for his family, friends, and those who knew him via basketball. It is obviously heart-wrenching for someone to die this young and apparently this unexpected.

*Second one I am aware of, that is. If I am wrong about that, please correct me.