Lance Blanks, a former University of Texas (UT) Longhorns men’s basketball player who went on to become a National Basketball Association (NBA) player and executive and Longhorn Network (LHN) analyst, died on May 3 at the age of 56, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported.
“Our family lost a true Longhorn legend,” the program’s Twitter account announced. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Lance Blanks.”
According to a commentary written by his daughter that was run by ESPN, Blanks, whose collegiate career began at the University of Virginia (UVA) before ultimately concluding in Austin, died by suicide.
“[The] fact is we will never truly know why,” Riley Blanks Reed wrote. “And we don't need to. All we need to do is remember him, honor him, celebrate him and pour our love into the family that made him happy.”
KVUE reported that Blanks was born in Del Rio near the Texas-Mexico border and spent his adolescence in The Woodlands, a suburb 30 miles north of Houston.
While he lettered for two years under Tom Penders, the station reported, he and teammates Travis Mays and Joey Wright formed what the burnt orange faithful collectively knew as the “BMW Scoring Machine” and guided UT to an Elite 8 berth in the 1990 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball tournament.
Per KVUE, Blanks joined the then-world champion Detroit Pistons as a late first-round draft pick of theirs.
He suited up for the Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves before going abroad for the rest of his hardwood career.
KVUE reported that upon his return to U.S. soil, Blanks worked for the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers before the Phoenix Suns hired him as their general manager at the start of last decade.
He eventually found his way back to UT and took on the on-air color commentator for LHN’s coverage of the team for whom he starred with 1,322 points, which is considered a program record for the most points by a two-year player, according to the report.
Pistons great Joe Dumars said in a report on the NBA’s website that his ex-teammate was “a light for all those who knew him.”
“It’s been a privilege to have called him one of my closest friends,” Dumars, who was one of the ringleaders of the “Bad Boys” in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, said. “I’m eternally grateful for all the support he has shown me throughout the years.”
KVUE reported that Blanks leaves behind his mother, his brother, his two daughters and his granddaughter.
If you or a loved one has suicidal thoughts, please contact the 24-hour 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 9-8-8.