Elden Campbell, former Laker and NBA champion, dies at 57

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost another member of their family far too soon.

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.

The cause of Campbell’s death has not yet been disclosed.

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.