Former San Antonio Spurs player Dwayne Schintzius dies at the age of 43 - NBA Update
After fighting with chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia for more than three years former San Antonio Spurs player Dwayne Schintzius breathed his last on Sunday afternoon.
The cause of his death was respiratory failure, a complication of the rare but fatal disease which he had been suffering over the years. In 2010, Schintzius underwent a bone marrow surgery after receiving a donation from his brother. Although the operation was declared a success but he kept on suffering from complications and had to undergo several painful rounds of chemotherapy.
In 2012, he was in need of another bone marrow transplant due to the complications and his sufferings finally came to end with his death on last Sunday at Moffit Cancer Center. He was only 43 years of age.
Dwyane’s life was short but marked by numerous accomplishments.
Schintzius was a sensation at high school, where he played for Florida from 1987-90 and due to his brilliant perfromances the Florida Gators made their 1st 3 NCAA tournament appearances.
At 7ft 2, his stature was feared by offenses and getting the ball past him used to be a rarity. As a result even after so many years, his 272 block shots record still stands there unchallenged.
He was 6th in all time scoring as he tallied 1,624 points. It was his unprecedented achievements that compelled the APP, UPI and the sporting news to name him an All-American in 1989 after he averaged 18 points and 9.7 boards per game.
Bill Koss, former Gator and Sun sports analyst remembered him as person who made a great impact on University of Florida basketball.
“He was maybe as skilful as any big man that's ever played at Florida," Koss said. "Soft hands. Could really pass the basketball. Great instincts. He really was a guy that had a large, large impact on University of Florida basketball."
Dwyane eventually decided to join the NBA draft in 1990 and became the 24th overall for the San Antonio Spurs. He was traded to Sacramento Kings in 1991.
His signature hair cut which he used to refer as “the Lobster” attracted a huge fan base. But since his rookie year, he suffered from injury issues and was mostly off the court. He underwent surgery on his back, knee and ankle during his career and never played for more than 43 games in single season.
Due to his injuries he couldn’t find a permanent niche in a single team. After Kings, he went on to play from New Jersey Nets to Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers and finally with Boston Celtics before retiring in 1999 from NBA.
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