Former NBA Player Darius Morris' Cause of Death Revealed
Darius Morris' cause of death has been determined one month after his passing.
The former NBA point guard died of coronary artery atherosclerosis—also known as coronary heart disease—on May 2 at the age of 33, according to County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner records reviewed by E! News.
Other "significant conditions" that contributed to his death included effects of cocaine, alcohol and hydrocodone, an opioid often used to treat severe chronic pain, per the medical examiner's office.
His manner of death was ruled as an accident.
Morris got his start in basketball with the University of Michigan's Wolverines, before being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011. He played alongside the late Kobe Bryant for two season until he was reassigned to the L.A. D-Fenders, an NBA G League team.
In September 2013, Morris signed with the Philadelphia 76ers but was waived in the following month. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies on short-term contracts in early 2014, before joining the Antonio Spurs for the NBA Summer League that season.
Morris then spent time with the Brooklyn Nets and the New Orleans Pelicans, as well as the NBA G League's Santa Cruz Warriors and the Chinese Basketball Association's Guangdong Southern Tigers. In the later part of his basketball career, he was a player on BC Enisey, a team on the VTB United League in Russia.
The athlete was last signed to the BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque in France, playing seven games before the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wake of his passing, Morris' former college basketball coach John Beilein described him as a "leader" that "laid the foundation for Michigan's next decade of success."
"RIP DMo," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "and condolences to the Morris family."
