Timberwolves guard Sealy killed in collision

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Timberwolves player Malik Sealy was killed early Saturday in a head-on collision in a Minneapolis suburb.

No details of the accident were released, but the basketball team scheduled a 6 p.m. EDT news conference with Timberwolves president Rob Moor and team owner Glen Taylor.

"Malik Sealy was a stellar contributor to the NBA, his team and his community," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "This is a tragic day for the NBA family and we extend our sympathy and prayers to his family."

A moment of silence was observed at the opener of the Western Conference finals between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Donnie Walsh, president of the Indiana Pacers, the team that chose Sealy in the first round of the 1992 National Basketball Association draft, said "the entire Pacers family is deeply saddened at the recent passing of Malik Sealy. He was a tremendous performer and a true gentleman."

Sources told WCCO-AM and the Star Tribune that Sealy's sport utility vehicle was hit head-on by a pickup truck traveling the wrong way on a divided highway at about 5 a.m.

Sealy, 30, is the second NBA player killed in a traffic accident this year. Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills died after a crash on Jan. 12, when he and teammate David Wesley were racing their Porsches at more than 100 mph after a morning practice.

Sealy played eight NBA seasons, the last two with the Timberwolves. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Sealy, who also played for Indiana, the Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit, grew up in New York and starred at St. John's, where he was the university's second-leading career scorer behind Chris Mullin when he left following his senior season in 1992.

archive