Elden Campbell, long-time NBA center best known for anchoring the paint for the L.A. Lakers throughout the 1990s, passed away earlier this week while on a family fishing trip.
According to his family, Campbell had returned to shore, when he suddenly went unresponsive. Emergency responders were unable to revive him. He was 57.
Lakers Heyday
Campbellâs NBA career stretched for fifteen seasons, beginning as the 27th overall pick by the Lakers in the 1990 NBA Draft. Standing 6’11 with a 7’3 wingspan, he developed into one of the leagueâs most dependable interior defenders during an era defined by low-post battles.
Across 1,044 regular-season games, Campbell averaged 10.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game, finishing with more than 10,000 career points and over 1,600 blocks. During a five-year stretch from 1995-2000, which he mostly spent with the Lakers, he averaged double-digit scoring numbers each season, and posted multiple years with more than 2.0 blocks per game, as one of the most solid centers in the league.
Campbell spent his first nine seasons with the Lakers, where he became both a fan favorite and a steady presence through a series of roster transitions. He arrived amid the post-Showtime decline, stayed through the drafting of Kobe Bryant, and survived into the early years of the Shaq-Kobe era. At various times, he was a starter, a backup to Shaq or a partner alongside Vlade Divac in a two-post line-up, before being moved on early in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season; across 618 regular season games with the Lakers – with 381 starts – Campbell would average 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Campbell’s Later Career
In March 1999, Campbell was traded by the Lakers to the Charlotte Hornets, along with Eddie Jones, in exchange for Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong. He would remain with the Hornets for nearly four years, starting alongside P.J. Brown, Anthony Mason and Derrick Coleman at various times, before being dealt to the Seattle Supersonics at the 2003 trade deadline in exchange for Kenny Anderson.
From there, after five months with the Sonics, Campbell would sign with the Detroit Pistons, and enjoy one of the most defining chapters of his career. With the 2003-04 Pistons, Campbell played a smaller role in spot minutes behind Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace, but played key minutes during Detroitâs championship run; his size, physicality and playoff composure were particularly valuable when matchups tightened.
Before the NBA, Campbell had been a star at Clemson, where he left as the schoolâs all-time leading scorer with 1,880 points. He also finished among Clemsonâs career leaders in rebounds and blocked shots, helping the Tigers reach the Sweet 16 in 1990 and establishing himself as one of the ACCâs premier big men of the era. He would later spent brief periods of time with the Utah Jazz and the then-New Jersey Nets, before returning to the Pistons in March 2005, where he would end his career a few months later.
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