Former Laker Elden Campbell, Who Was Known for His Serene Playing Style, Is Dead at 57

During his 15 years in the NBA, Elden Campbell earned himself a few nicknames. He was known as "The Janitor," due to his ability to clean up on the court, "The Big Homie," because of his size, and "Easy E," which was a reference to Elden's unusually calm playing style.

He famously hated talking to reporters, telling the Los Angeles Times in June 1991 that the only bad thing about playing well was that you had to stay longer to do interviews. On that day, Elden had to do press. Although the Lakers had just lost to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals, which helped them win their first title, Elden played remarkably well. He continued to do so throughout his career. In December 2025, Elden passed away at the age of 57.

News of Elden's death was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. A cause of death has not been revealed at this time. Former Laker Byron Scott grew up in Inglewood, Calif., near Elden's family, and attended the same high school as the 6-foot-11 center. He told the outlet that Elden's death was particularly painful. "I just remember his demeanor," recalled Byron. "He was just so cool, nothing speeding him up."

Byron described Elden as a good guy who could have been a great player, but all he really wanted was to play. "He didn’t put that time in, but he had some skills," explained Byron. "He was big and strong and could jump out of the gym. He had that nice little turnaround jump shot."

Former Laker forward Cedric Ceballos took to Instagram to mourn the loss of his friend and teammate. "This one hurt to the bone," he wrote in the caption below a photo of Elden. Several NBA players added their condolences in the comments. "Mannnnn that was my BIG Homie," said Baron Davis, who never played for the Lakers but, like Elden, was an L.A. native. Vince Carter spent a season with Elden on the New Jersey Nets. "Rest easy OG," he wrote. "It was a pleasure learning from you as a teammate."

The basketball world wasted no time in posting tributes to Elden on social media. Although many think of the Lakers when they think of him, the impressive center played for a few teams throughout his career. The Pistons Talk podcast, which is devoted to all things Detroit Pistons, described Elden's time with the team as an underrated run, marked by his "tough post defense, veteran leadership, and huge playoff minutes when it mattered most."

Before he played in the NBA, Elden was a Clemson Tiger. Their team's X (formerly Twitter) account posted about his death, writing that they mourned the loss of the man who was their all-time leading scorer. Back in February 2012, Elden visited his alma mater, where he reminisced about his time playing for the school. Elden said it was always special coming back because he loved it there. He just loved the game.