As reported by Fox Sports, The 20 year old son of former NBA stand-out Nick Van Exel, who played in the Association from ‘93-’‘06 for 6 different teams has been charged with murder for accidentally firing a loaded shotgun at a long-time family friend in Dallas, Texas.
Nickey Maxwell Van Exel was arrested sometime last week in connection with the shooting death of friend Bradley Bassey Eyo, age 23, after his body was found near a lake in Dallas suburb Garland. Reportedly the younger Van Exel is cooperating with authorities even though all the details are still sketchy, especially once police revealed that Van Exel panicked and dumped the body of his friend at the nearby lake.
Our prayers are with the victim’s family first and foremost in dealing with their loss, but we also hope that the Van Exel family can work through this tragedy and wish them all the best.
The elder Van Exel was one of the NBA’s most flashy players in his 13 seasons in the Association, known as one of the league’s better point guards, biggest trash talkers, and most potent 3 point shooters. After helping lead the University of Cinncinnati to a ‘93 Final Four appearance under then coach Bob Huggins, he along with former Temple guard Eddie Jones, and Cedric Ceballos were the key pieces in the rebuilding of the LA Lakers following Magic Johnson’s retirement.
After lasting only 5 seasons in LA, marred by squabbles with Shaq, a young Kobe Bryant, and then coach Del Harris, Nick was traded to Denver where he set career highs in scoring and assists for 4 seasons. After which he played another 4 full seasons for 4 teams including Dallas, Golden State, and Portland, before finishing up his career with the Spurs in the ’05-’06 season. He currently is an Assistant Coach with the Atlanta Hawks.
Van Exel was also prone to controversy during his career as he once tallied 23 assists in a game against the Grizzlies in 1997 but was later put under scrutiny after a scorekeeper admittedly inflated his totals in protest of the NBA’s scoring system. He also is probably remembered most for shoving a referee and ripping out television monitors court-side in ‘96, and for constant squabbles with coaches and players insted of his numerous game winning shots and 40 point games. With that being said, he was an amazing talent, finishing in the Top 15 in assists in 8 of his 13 seasons, making 1 All Star team(1998), and ranking 6th all-time in 3 point field goals made in NBA history.
Check out Nick Van Exel’s Career Highlights:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
