Earl “The Twirl” Cureton, a two-time NBA champion, died unexpectedly on Sunday morning.
The extremely tall center played 12 seasons in the NBA after being chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers in the third round of the 1979 NBA draft. In 1983, he assisted Philadelphia in winning the NBA championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cureton, from Detroit, played collegiately at Detroit-Mercy for Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Vitale. Later, he started playing for the Pistons. There, he played for three seasons prior to being traded to the Bulls.
Following 43 games in Chicago, Cureton went on to play for the Clippers before going back to the Bulls.
Afterwards, he played overseas, in Houston, and in Toronto.
Earl “The Twirl” Cureton was 66 years old.
