Sad news he was from WA and was in Melbourne at the time he was stabbed. He had signed with a semi-pro team in the NT to be coached by former Illawarra coach Matt Flinn but never got the chance to play for them.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/never-got-a-chance-basketball-player-identified-as-fatal-stabbing-victim-20220314-p5a4mn.html

In terms of active players dying in the NBA there have been guys like Drazen Petrovic, Reggie Lewis and Malik Sealy.

Conrad McCrae was one that always stuck with me.

Bobby Phills and Len Bias two other higher profile ones

Sorry should've clarified I meant in Australia

I can't think of any off the top of my head

Internationally, other than those mentioned, Eddie Griffin and Bison Dele were prominent although I think Dele may have retired by the time he died

Very sad and upsetting. WTF is wrong with people.

In Australia, the only two I can think of are Scott Fenton (1989) and Robert Scrigni (1987)

LV, Bison Dele was definitely retired. He had signed a big money contract with Detroit and was viewed as a disappointment by their fans and felt so bad he retired early with years still remaining on his contract.

He loved travelling even spent time travelling around Australia bought a nice fishing boat or something took his girlfriend and brother out with him. Dele and his partner were never seen again brother came back alone then got arrested when caught using his brother's I.D. and bank accounts in Mexico or something.

Lorenzen Wright was another one from that era that died not long after retiring his g/f or wife was having an affair and got the new guy to kill Lorenzen so they could live off his life insurance. Happened about 10 years ago and she was only recently found guilty and locked up.

I forgot about Bobby Phills but left out Bias because technically he never played in the NBA.

As a Celtics man, Len Bias is one of those big 'what ifs', they near the top and still got the #2 pick.

Reggie Lewis was just tragic, my first thought was why did he try to play (practice). He wasn't going to win championships with the likes of Dee Brown, Kevin Gamble, and Brian Shaw but would have made the post Larry Bird years more tolerable.

Len Bias and the 80s Celtics is one of the greatest "what ifs" in professional sports

Tragic re Alier Riak

Tim Boyd - Tassie Devils

Scott Fenton (Wildcats) & Tina Christie (Breakers / Lynx) back in the early 90 as comes to mind. Car crash in Perth's northern suburbs. Both had a fair bit of potential. Wildcats would go on to retire Fenton's #14

Alier Riak was stabbed to death in a brawl in Melbourne. It's just one of those things that makes you wonder what is going on in people's minds. The brawl would have been for something that in the scheme of things, you'd look back on and see as insignificant but now one life is gone, and another life, if the attacker is caught, is about to be changed forever. We live in a world where fighting is seen as tough or cool, but it's not. People get into scraps to prove themselves and to dominate other people but EVERY fight - EVERY FIGHT - is a life or death situation.

john Wesley - Forestville eagles . mid to late eighties ( car crash ) was an absolute jet.

Was the brawl Apex gang related?

If you listen to talkback radio I'm sure they will suggest it was.

been reading up on 2018 clickbait Perthworld?

Hank Gathers the original Bankman

The brawl would have been for something that in the scheme of things, you'd look back on and see as insignificant but now one life is gone,

I never at any point as a young fella carried a knife a lot of young ones do these days though. If you carry a knife you've got to be prepared to use it or have it turned on you which I certainly wasn't interested in.

Scott Fenton
What a great guy and the driver who ended their lives thru utter stupidity got a slap on the wrist .