Lorenzen Wright Found Dead

He went number seven in the 1996 draft, which saw ten underclassmen picked before the first senior of the night, Todd Fuller. It was one of those drafts that would have forced basketball traditionalists to harp about the detriments of leaving school early except for the fact that so many of the players picked turned into All-stars and future Hall of Famers. Lorenzen Wright was neither, but he did have a family and he did leave a lasting impression on basketball fans like myself.  I discuss this tragedy over at The Faster Times.  


Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lorenzen Wright's family.

To put into perspective just how young Lorenzen Wright is, here's a list of the 1996 draft, several of whom are still playing:

1st Round (Players still playing, or trying to play, are in bold)

1) Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
2) Marcus Camby, Toronto Raptors
3) Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vancouver
4) Stephon Marbury, Milwaukee (traded to Minnesota)
5) Ray Allen, Minnesota (traded to Milwaukee)
6) Antoine Walker, Boston
7) Lorenzen Wright, LA Clippers
8) Kerry Kittles, New Jersey
9) Samaki Walker, Dallas
10) Erick Dampier, Indiana
11) Todd Fuller, Golden State
12) Vitaly Potapenko, Cleveland
13) Kobe Bryant, Charlotte (traded to LA Lakers)
14) Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento
15) Steve Nash, Phoenix
16) Tony Delk, Charlotte
17) Jermaine O'Neal, Portland
18) John Wallace, New York
19) Walter McCarty, New York
20) Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland
21) Dontae Jones, New York
22) Roy Rogers, Vancouver
23) Efthimios Rentzias, Denver
24) Derek Fisher, LA Lakers
25) Martin Muursepp, Utah
26) Jerome Williams, Detroit
27) Brian Evans, Orlando
28) Priest Lauderdale, Atlanta
29) Travis Knight, Chicago