NBA star Brandon Clarke dies aged 29 as Memphis Grizzlies mourn loss

The Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, a fan favourite who spent his entire seven-year NBA career with the franchise, has died at the age of 29.
The Canadian-born power forward’s death was confirmed on Tuesday by both the Grizzlies and his representation, the agency Priority Sports. According to TMZ Sports, which first broke the story, Clarke died on Monday 11 May. Neither the team nor his family has disclosed a cause of death.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten. We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
His agency, Priority Sports, issued an emotional tribute of its own. “We are all beyond devastated by the passing of Brandon Clarke,” the firm wrote on X. “He was so loved by all of us here, and everyone whose life he touched. He was the gentlest soul who was the first to be there for all of his friends and family.” The statement singled out his mother Whitney, his wider family and his many teammates from “high school to San Jose State to Gonzaga to the Grizzlies,” adding: “Everyone loved BC because he was always there as the most supportive friend you could ever imagine.”
Clarke was selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, before being traded to Memphis on draft night in exchange for the rights to Darius Bazley and a future second-round pick. He never wore another uniform. Over seven seasons in Tennessee, the 6ft 8in forward played 309 regular-season games and a further 12 playoff appearances, averaging 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists a game.
He arrived in the league with a flourish. Named the MVP of the 2019 NBA Summer League, Clarke produced 15 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the championship game to deliver the title for Memphis, becoming the first player in Summer League history to win both the overall and the championship MVP awards. His rookie season earned him a place on the NBA’s All-Rookie team and a fourth-placed finish in the Rookie of the Year vote.
His most memorable contribution to the Grizzlies came in the 2022 playoffs, when his energy off the bench helped propel Memphis past the Minnesota Timberwolves in the franchise’s only series win of the recent era. That season he also picked up votes for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
Injuries, however, increasingly defined the back half of his career. According to ESPN, Clarke suffered a high-grade PCL sprain in his right knee on 22 March 2025, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. An arthroscopic procedure followed in September 2025 to address synovitis in the same knee, and although he returned briefly in December, a calf strain limited him to just two appearances in the 2025-26 campaign.
Last month brought further trouble. According to ESPN and Daily Memphian, Clarke was arrested in Cross County, Arkansas, on 1 April after a high-speed chase in which he was alleged to have been driving in excess of 100mph. He was charged with offences including speeding and possession of a controlled substance, with officers reportedly recovering more than 200 grams of kratom — a plant-based supplement marketed as an energy booster and pain reliever — in his vehicle.
Born in Vancouver to a Canadian father and an American mother, Clarke held both nationalities and had spoken publicly in 2024 about his hope of representing the Canadian national team. He began his college career at San Jose State before transferring to Gonzaga in 2017, sitting out a year under NCAA rules. When he eventually took to the floor for the Bulldogs, he became one of college basketball’s most decorated junior players, named the West Coast Conference’s Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year — a unique double in WCC history — before leading Gonzaga to an Elite Eight finish in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. In a 36-point, five-block performance against Baylor, he joined Shaquille O’Neal and David Robinson as the only players to record at least 35 points and five blocks in a single tournament game.
Off the court, Clarke had become a familiar figure in Memphis charitable circles. In September 2025, on his 29th birthday, he visited Kipp Collegiate Elementary School in the city and surprised a class of second-graders with a $1,500 donation to support literacy initiatives, later increasing the total to $3,500 for the local non-profit ARise2Read.
Tributes from across the basketball world began to pour in on Tuesday evening. The veteran NBA reporter Shams Charania confirmed the news shortly after the team’s announcement, and former teammates and rivals shared their disbelief on social media.
The Grizzlies, who currently sit mid-table in the Western Conference, have not yet announced any formal commemoration but are expected to mark Clarke’s passing at their next home game. The franchise has lost one of its longest-serving and most beloved players — a quiet, gentle figure off the floor, whose energy and athleticism on it had become part of the identity of Memphis basketball.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​