The Los Angeles Lakers have lost another member of their family far too soon.
Elden Campbell, the gentle giant who grew up in Inglewood dreaming of Lakers gold before carving out a 15-year career of quiet excellence, has died at the age of 57.
For fans who watched him rise from Morningside High School to the bright lights of the Forum, the loss feels personal. Campbell wasn’t just a Laker; he was one of their own — a hometown kid whose journey traced the streets that wind through Inglewood, Hawthorne, and down to Century Boulevard. You could feel that connection every time he jogged out of the tunnel, long and loose, shoulders relaxed, steady as sunrise.
Drafted 27th overall in 1990 by the team he grew up cheering for, Campbell became a fixture in Los Angeles during an era defined by transition — a bridge between Showtime’s fading glow and the dawn of Shaq and Kobe.
INGLEWOOD, UNITED STATES: Cleveland Cavaliers player Chris Mills puts a shot up over (C) LA Lakers Kobe Bryant (L) and Elden Campbell during the second quarter in Inglewood’s Great Western Forum 19 February. The Cavaliers beat the Lakers 103 – 84. AFP PHOTO Hector MATA (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images)
Campbell wasn’t flashy, but he was reliable and consistent. His game unfolded with a kind of ease that made the difficult look casual: soft-touch turnaround jumpers, patient footwork, rim protection delivered with a calm hand. Teammates called him “Easy E,” and the name stuck because it fit him like a well-worn warm-up jacket.
Campbell spent 8½ seasons in Lakers gold, averaging nearly 15 points during the 1996–97 season while playing alongside a young Kobe Bryant and newly arrived Shaquille O’Neal.
But his story took a sharp turn in 1999 when the Lakers traded him and Eddie Jones to the Charlotte Hornets — a deal that reshaped the franchise and altered Campbell’s path. He thrived in Charlotte, posting the best numbers of his career and proving that his talent was far deeper than the casual rhythm of his game sometimes suggested.
He never did win a championship with the team he grew up idolizing. Life can be poetic like that — unpredictable, ironic, and strangely perfect. Because Elden Campbell eventually earned his ring in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons… by beating the Lakers. In a way, it felt like the basketball gods closing a loop, letting a local kid claim his place in history on the grandest stage, even if it wasn’t in purple and gold.
Campbell was inducted into the SoCal Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year, a recognition that felt overdue for someone who shaped so many Southern California memories — from high school gyms to the Forum’s sweeping wooden rafters.
Cedric Ceballos, who knew Campbell long before either of them made it to the NBA, put the moment into words that echoed across Instagram: “This one hurt to the bone… grew up as kids together.”
The cause of Campbell’s death has not yet been disclosed. What remains certain, though, is the legacy he leaves behind — not the kind etched into MVP ballots or sculpted into statues, but the kind carried in the quiet affection of teammates, the memories of fans, and the pride of a community that watched one of its own rise.