Former Los Angeles Lakers standout Elden Campbell has died at the age of 57, the Los Angeles Times reported early Wednesday. His cause of death has not yet been made public.
Campbell, a 6-foot-11 center known for his calm on-court presence and shot-blocking power, spent eight seasons with the Lakers during a 15-year NBA career that included stints with the Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Seattle SuperSonics and Detroit Pistons. He won his only NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004, defeating his former Lakers teammates in a memorable Finals series.
A first-round pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, Campbell joined the Lakers after starring at Clemson University, where he averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game over four seasons. In Los Angeles, he shared the court with young Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones, and later Shaquille O’Neal, becoming a reliable interior defender and one of the league’s most durable big men.
Campbell was traded to the Hornets in 1999 along with Jones, and his steady defensive play kept him in the league for more than a decade. His size and strength made him one of the few players who could physically challenge O’Neal in the post — a role Detroit leaned on heavily during their 2004 title run and again in the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals.
By the end of his career, Campbell had played 1,044 NBA games, averaging 10.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. His 1,602 career blocks place him 34th on the NBA’s all-time list. Lakers fans knew him by his nicknames — “Easy,” “Big E,” “Big Homie,” and “The Janitor,” for his ability to “clean up the boards.”
In the hours after the news broke, tributes began emerging from former teammates and friends. Former Lakers forward Cedric Ceballos wrote on Instagram, “This one hurt to the bone. Grew up as kids together. Rest BIG EASY.”
The Lakers, Pistons and Nets have not yet issued public statements on Campbell’s passing.
Campbell grew up in Inglewood, California, attending Morningside High School before heading to Clemson and later realizing his NBA dream with his hometown Lakers — the team where he became the franchise’s leading scorer during much of the 1990s and an enduring figure of the Showtime-to-Shaq transition era.
