12 NBA Players who died during their Playing Career 

#11 Reggie Lewis

Reggie Lewis (Image courtesy: celticsblog.com)

Reggie Lewis spent all of his six years playing for the famed franchise of the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, those were the only seasons he played in the league.

Drafted in 1987 by the Celtics, Lewis lost his life in the offseason of 1993 when he suffered a sudden cardiac death on the court during practice on July 27th.

Over the course of his six years at Boston, L averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 48.8% from the field. At 6-foot 7, he was a combo guard, who could play both the 2 and 3 spot. In his final three seasons with the team, he took over the starting role from Larry Bird and averaged close to 19 points per game.