Crime & Safety
Michael Wright, NBA Draft Pick and Former Farragut High Star, Found Dead
A Chicago native, the basketball player was found dead in the back of his SUV, which had been parked for days on a leafy street.
By SIMONE WILSON (Patch Staff)
The lifeless body of pro basketball player Michael Wright — a star at Farragut Academy on Chicago’s West Side — was found Tuesday morning in New York.
Wednesday evening, the NYC Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide. He suffered a head wound.
Police said they found the 35-year-old basketball player dead in his parked Lexus SUV on East 16th Street near Avenue I in Flatbush, Brooklyn, around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, with trash bags covering his body.
Wright had last been seen Nov. 5 around 3 p.m. in New Jersey, where he’d been staying recently, police said.
No arrests have been made.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, Wright played basketball at Farragut Career Academy High School. In college, he served as a star forward for the Arizona Wildcats.
In 2001, Wright was drafted to the New York Knicks, but never made it onto the roster, the Daily News reports. Instead, he traveled abroad to play for pro teams in Poland, Turkey, Israel, Germany and France.
Members of Wright’s wide fan base took to Twitter on Wednesday to share their shock and sorrow over the young player’s sudden death.
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