Former NBA star Caleb Swanigan of Portland Trailblazers and friend of Damian Lillard was one of the upcoming stars in the league. He was a talented 6’9, 260lb Power Forward.
In his short-lived career, he averaged 2.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 8.7 minutes per game. He was an athletic big who was capable of stretching the floor.
Sadly, he passed away at the age of 25 due to natural causes. His college team shared their emotions by tweeting “Our thoughts and prayers to Caleb Swanigan’s family and friends. The world lost a gentle soul last night. Love you, Biggie.”
💔 Devastated.
Our thoughts and prayers to Caleb Swanigan’s family and friends. The world lost a gentle soul last night.
Love you Biggie. pic.twitter.com/spU2hQtJdi
— Purdue Mens Basketball (@BoilerBall) June 21, 2022
Portland superstar Damian Lillard also shared his emotion on Instagram and wrote “Rest in piece big”. This shows how a promising talent he was and could’ve contributed to Portland’s future.
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Damian Lillard and Caleb Swanigan had a history
Caleb had a troubled childhood, he spent most of his time at a homeless shelter. However, later he was adopted by a former Detroit Lion star Roosevelt Barnes.
Damian Lillard has always been known as a great leader. He protects his teammates at all cost and never throws anyone under the bus.
In 2017, Portland selected Swanigan with the 26th overall pick. He would remain in and out of the team.
Regardless of Caleb’s position in the team, Dame came to his rescue when Swanigan was being criticized for gaining weight.
A troll posted 2 pictures of Swanigan on how he went from in shape to way out of shape only to receive a crisp reply from Damian Lillard “If you gone post this s–t with real concern that’s cool,” Lillard replied. “But don’t ask ‘how does one go from this to that’ … he clearly having real life issues. That’s how… you don’t know WHAT it is he’s going through to cause a drastic change. If you gone be supportive then do that, but don’t ask no shit like that like it’s not possible when you naturally a big dude and go down a dark road”.
This was Damian Lillard last May. So sad man pic.twitter.com/21zacpzRpk
— Jake (@JakeAndHoops) June 21, 2022
Even in Caleb’s childhood, he had trouble with his weight, however, he got himself in line and became one of the most competitive and hard-working player as stated by his college Head Coach Matt Painter.
As this post resurfaced again, the basketball community is proud to see how Dame clapped back at a troller and at a time when the world mourns the death of the young Caleb Swanigan, Dame’s incredible gesture will be remembered for years to come.