The NBA has lost another member of the loaded 2003 draft class. Michael Sweetney, the former New York Knicks forward and ninth overall pick, has reportedly died at 43.
Sweetney’s wife, India, shared the news on Facebook and wrote, “With the heaviest hearts, we are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Michael,” India wrote. “To know Mike Sweetney was love to him.
No one loved him more and he loved no one more than his family. His children were the light of his life, and he lived every day to give them the best life possible.
He’s been my best friend for 30 years and my husband for almost 20. I’m not sure what we or I will do without him,” she added.
At this point, it is not clear how Sweetney died, and the post did not say whether he had been dealing with health problems.
Selected by New York with the ninth pick in the famed 2003 NBA Draft, Sweetney spent two seasons with the Knicks. He wasn’t a headline-grabber, but he did give the team solid minutes. In 119 games for New York, he posted a career-high 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the 2004-2005 season.
Before the 2005-2006 season, the Knicks traded him to the Chicago Bulls. Sweetney played two more years there, then moved on to an international career that ran until 2017. He also had two separate tries with the Boston Celtics, though neither worked out.
Sweetney’s body type always made him a unique case at the NBA level. Listed at 6-foot-8, he was a little undersized for a power forward, yet he played at nearly 350 pounds, making him one of the shortest players to carry that much weight in the league. Weight issues followed him through his life and his basketball career.
A standout at Georgetown for three years before entering the draft, Sweetney is now the second former Knicks player to die in the last couple of years.
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