Photo: nba tv
Longtime NBA reporter and analyst Sekou Smith has died. He was 48.
The NBA confirmed the news on Tuesday, issuing astatement on Twitter.
“The NBA mourns the passing of Sekou Smith, a beloved member of the NBA family,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in the statement. “Sekou was one of the most affable and dedicated reporters in the NBA and a terrific friend to so many across the league.”
Smith reported on basketball for more than two decades. He covered teams all over the nation, including the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks, after graduating from Jackson State University in 1997.
“Sekou’s love of basketball was clear to everyone who knew him, and it always shined through in his work,” Silver continued in his statement.
Turner Sports also mourned Smith in a statement Tuesday,per NBA.com.
Smith had reportedly been battling coronavirus, though his cause of death was not revealed Tuesday, and it was not clear when he was first diagnosed. Many prominent players, coaches, and fellow analysts had been sending him well wishes over the last week. On Tuesday, they mourned his death.
“[He was] just a great, great person,“saidNew Orleans Pelicans head coach Stan Van Gundy. “He cared about other people. Great sense of humor. Positive, upbeat guy. Extremely intelligent.”
Van Gundy said that he’d last heard about Smith’s condition on Monday night, and the news sounded positive.
“It just hit hard,” he said of receiving the news that Smith had died.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called the news of Smith’s death “crushing.”
“Sekou has been part of the NBA family for a long time… Just another awful day and we’re all so saddened,“he said, perThe Athleticreporter Anthony Slater.
Sportscaster Mark Jonesshared on Twitterthat he had a “heavy heart today” after learning of Smith’s death.
ESPN’s Marc Spears shared a photo with Smith,writing on Twitter, “Thank you for your brotherly friendship, humor, honesty and compassion. Glad we had a chance to tell each other we loved each other three weeks ago.”
“You were a gift to this Earth as a friend, father and a man Sekou Smith,” he added. “Rest In Peace to my brother. Prayers to your wife & family.”
“Man today just got a little heavier… my condolences to Sekou’s wife, family, friends, and extended NBA family,” wrote Phoenix Suns player Chris Paul in atweet. “What a kind and compassionate man we just lost.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
