Amidst the many rumors related to the Draft and the debates on which franchise should select which prospect, a very dark news unfortunately came to be added to the basketball news this Tuesday. Former NBA player Caleb Swanigan has died aged just 25.
This is Shams Charania from The Athletic who announced the tragedy on his Twitter account. And the reactions were quick to follow on the blue bird. From Jaylen Brown to Jusuf Nurkic via Evan Turner, several NBA players who rubbed shoulders with the former interior of Portland and Sacramento wanted to pay tribute to him. The world of college basketball has also expressed its sadness, Swanigan being one of those players who have left a real mark in the college where they went. Before entering the Big League via the 26th choice of the 2017 Draft, Caleb had established himself as a very serious guy in the rackets under the colors of Purdue, the university that a certain Jaden Ivey has just left. The best high school student in Indiana in 2015 notably won the Lute Olson Award rewarding the MOP (Most Oustanding Player) of the NCAA season, as well as the Pete Newell Big Man Award for the best player in the low position. He had also been named Big Ten Player of the Year and in the first-team All-American alongside Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart in particular. A very good university career therefore, which did not however translate into the NBA where Swanigan will only have played 75 games in total between 2017 and 2020 (for stats of 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 8.7 minutes), in the jersey of the Blazers and the Kings.
Caleb Swanigan, the Purdue standout who played three NBA seasons with Portland and Sacramento, has passed away at 25 years old, his alma mater says. RIP.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2022
According to information fromESPN, Caleb Swanigan died of “natural causes”. Fighting for a good part of his youth against overweight problems and having grown up with a father addicted to crack and diabetic, Caleb encountered his share of challenges on his personal path, he who also chained passages in different centers homeless shelter between Utah and Indiana until age 13. Swanigan then found a real direction through basketball and thanks in particular to a certain Roosevelt Barnes, a former NFL player (who went through Purdue University, where he played basketball before becoming an AAU coach) who became an agent who took Caleb under his wing by becoming his adoptive father. Swanigan has even gotten involved with FoodCorps, which works with American schools to help kids eat better every day. But once his NBA career was over, the former Blazers player unfortunately found his old demons. Arrested for possession of marijuana in 2020, Caleb appeared in court with a worryingly overweight, overweight which had been the source of much mockery on social networks. To the extent that Blazers boss Damian Lillard stepped up to condemn bad language and ask for indulgence in the face of the galleys of his former teammate…
25 years. 25 years old only. The news is terrible, and the fate of Caleb Swanigan simply tragic. That his soul rests in peace. RIP.
Source texte : The Athletic, ESPN
Rest In Peace 🤍 pic.twitter.com/FoZVVVprsc
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) June 21, 2022
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