Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke died on Tuesday at age 29, his agency Priority Sports and the Grizzlies confirmed in statements released the same afternoon. A cause of death has not been officially announced. Clarke was found at a residence in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles; ESPN and TMZ have reported that authorities are investigating the death as a possible overdose, with an autopsy pending. The Grizzlies organization said it was "devastated" and offered its support to the Clarke family.
The career
Clarke arrived in Memphis the way most franchises hope to find a long-tenured rotation player: as the second pick of a draft night trade. The Oklahoma City Thunder selected him 21st overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, then dealt him to the Grizzlies the same evening. He started his rookie year alongside Ja Morant — also 2019 class, also draft night, the foundation pieces of what would become the next era of Grizzlies basketball.
That rookie season, Clarke averaged 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 58 games, made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. He stayed in Memphis for the rest of his career — seven seasons, all in a Grizzlies uniform, averaging 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds across 350-plus appearances. By the 2025-26 season he was tied with Morant as the longest-tenured Grizzlies player on the roster.
Before the NBA
Clarke played his first two college seasons at San José State before transferring to Gonzaga, where he sat out a redshirt year and then put together one of the best individual seasons in West Coast Conference history. In 2018-19 he averaged 16.9 points and led the conference with 3.2 blocks per game. He swept the WCC Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards — the first player in conference history to win both in the same season — and earned All-WCC First Team honors. Gonzaga reached the Elite Eight that March.
That two-way profile — an undersized power forward who could finish at the rim, switch on the perimeter, and protect the paint — was the template he carried into the league.
The recent context
In April, Clarke was arrested in Arkansas on charges that included speeding, possession of a controlled substance, and trafficking of a controlled substance. The arrest had not yet been adjudicated. The Grizzlies had not made any further statement on his roster status at the time of his death.
That backdrop, combined with the circumstances around the death investigation, will be part of the conversation in the coming days. None of it changes what Clarke meant to a young Grizzlies core that grew up in this same NBA playoff era, or to the teammates and coaches who showed up to the practice facility with him for seven years.
Tributes
Ja Morant — Clarke's draft classmate, his teammate every season of his career, the player whose name became synonymous with this Grizzlies generation alongside his — posted a tribute on social media within hours of the announcement. The franchise's social channels went dark and were replaced with a black tile bearing his initials. Players, coaches, and front office staff across the league responded throughout the evening.
Clarke is survived by his family. The Grizzlies have indicated they will share details on a memorial in the coming days. He was 29.
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