Fort Worth, United States---Former Dallas Mavericks star Roy Tarpley, a talented center whose NBA career was cut short by addiction, suspensions and legal troubles, died on Friday aged 50.
Online records for the medical examiner's office of Tarrant County, Texas, said Tarpley died in the intensive care unit at a local hospital, but no cause of death was given.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed Tarpley's death on Twitter, sending condolences to Tarpley's family.
"Mavs fans everywhere will remember you fondly," Cuban tweeted.
The Dallas Morning News reported that the Mavericks team -- who face the Clippers on Saturday in Los Angeles -- were told that Tarpley died of liver failure.
The Mavericks made Tarpley the seventh overall draft selection in 1986.
He was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year following his second season, when he averaged 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds over a career-high 81 games.
He would never play another full season and sat out three seasons straight from 1991-94 due to suspensions related to alcohol and drug abuse.
The NBA banned him for life in 1995 for violating terms of an after-care program.
In 280 NBA games he averaged 12.6 points and 10 rebounds.
AFP
