Dan Roundfield, the three-time All-Star and defensive stopper mostly remembered for his time with the Atlanta Hawks in the early 1980s, has drowned while swimming on vacation in Aruba, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution (via SLAM).
Aruba police and Roundfield’s sister-in-law, Julia Roundfield, confirmed his death to the Associated Press. Roundfield was 59.
Roundfield could score — he averaged 19 points per game in 1983 and ha a nice midrange jumper that would have been a great fit in today’s game. He also averaged 11.4 rebounds a game in 1983 and 9.2 a game for his career, which also included stops in Indiana, his native Detroit and Washington. He had a career PER of 17.9 (well above the league average).
But it was the other end of the floor where he was a good defensive big that he meant the most to his team. Roundfield came to the NBA out of Central Michigan college and his first professional season was in the ABA with the Pacers before the merger.
Roundfield is survived by his wife and two sons, Corey and Christopher. Our condolences go out to his family on their terrible loss.
