Anna Nicole Smith- World famous star???? People know her world wide because she married an oil tycoon billionaire not because she did anything that made her a star!!!! Lol..
Reggie Lewis and Drazen Petrovic!

Kurt Cobain (27) shot himself.

Sid Vicious (21) heroin overdose.

Florence Griffith Joyner (39) suffocated during seizure?

Wolfgang Mozart (35) rheumatic fever.

Jesus Christ (33) nailed to a cross!!!

Yeah Panther, you're right but at the time of her death Anna Nicole Smith was known world wide. She was also in Playboy... so I knew her!

Anna Nicole Smith in her prime??
By the way Panther she did do things that made her a star (of sorts!)- just not at age 39.

Flo Jo in her prime??

Do you mean just under 40 or actually in their prime?

Jam Master Jay.

Died age 37 from a gunshot, while in a recording studio.

R.I.P JMJ =(

Either really, I just meant in the prime of their life so I picked under 40 as a round figure. Yes Flo Jo had retired but was still relatively young.

Tupac Shakur, aged 26 killed in his car, drive-by shooting.

Bon Scott........

Jim Morrison (December 8, 1943  July 3, 1971)
Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970)

Both of these two died at age 27

Janis Joplin also died aged 27. I've heard of a "27 Club" featuring several famous musicians.

Bringing the topic back to Ball

Len Bias- (22) Pick 2 in the 1986 NBA Draft (celtics), Died of a Cocaine overdose less then 48 hours after being Drafted.

I think baseballer Lou Gehrig died at a young age?

River Phoenix (23) drugs.
John Belushi (33) drugs.
Marilyn Monroe (36)
Bruce Lee (32)
Martin Luther King (39) assasinated.

James Dean was only 24, not 35 as stated earlier!

Biggie Smalls (drive bye) age 24

Ballers - Malik Sealy (30), Bill Robinzine (29), Jason Collier (28), Bobby Phills (30).

Not world famous but former Nunawading/West Sydney NBL & Boomers player Robert Scrigni died in his mid 20's. I don't think he was an Olympian but played for the Boomers at the World Championships in the mid 80's with Gaze, Smyth, etc.

HEATH LEDGER - supposed accidental drug overdose

I will go the motorsport route

Ayrton Senna 34
Jim Clark 32 ( Statistically the greatest F1 driver of all time)
Bruce McLaren 32 ( Creater of the team Mclaren)
Gilles Villenevue 32 ( Father of Jacques and regarded as one of the fastest and bravest of all time)
Graham Hill ( Father of Damon one of the best)

many more but those are the bigger names.

Tupac Shakur (25)

Holy crap- no idea Bison Dele was a missing person....

How bout Eddie Griffin?

Who was that Center that played for Atlanta and died couple o years back...something to do with his heart i think...

Bobby Phills...

Kobe Bryant...

I know he's still alive, but you gotta admit, Paul Pierce killed him in the play-offs!!!

Jason Collier was the guy Quagmire...

Aaliyah - Plane crash
Jam Master Jay - Shot in studio
Lisa "left eye" Lopes - Car accident
Joe C (Kid Rocks midget) - Celiac Disease
Eddie Guerrero - Heart failure
Owen Hart - Fell on his head

Don't know how anyone forgot this one...
Bob Marley - Cancer... believed to be killed by american government

Drazen Petrovic was smack bang in his prime and could've been the first Europen all-star to start his career in europe, Detlef doesn't count.

Len Bias surely couldn't have ended up being a great player, i don't care about his stats, size etc. If the bloke was getting in to the hard drugs to celebrate gettin drafted, this no doubt would have continued as long as his career lasted and perhaps he would have ended up in the Roy Tarpley, William Bedford (other big guy who played for the warriors for a year or two before dissapearing) basket. Cocaine is a highly addictive drug, i tried it whilst in South America and i got to the point where i couldn't go out without it if it was available and ended up basically having it if someone else was, even if we were just gonna watch TV. In Australia thankfully it is very expensive and hard to find (no i haven't really looked). Having said this, it is easier to get in the states due to its proximity to Colombia and Central America, and is cheapish (so i've heard). I didn't have it for long enough to notice any long term physical or mental side effects, just nasal issues which healed within days of stopping. I also know that to test for it is harder because it leaves your body within 48 hours, Wendell Sailor was unlucky in that drug testers randomly tested him under 24 hours after he took it (on a sunday night). I also have an american friend who claims he used to watch darryl strawberry on tv play baseball whilst heavily under the influence of it, he was an athlete who didn't do it sparingly enough & also got caught. I'd say Len Bias would have ended up falling through the cracks and wasn't ever going to become the mega star people make out, maybe chris webber level of player, no more.

adios (sniff sniff)

I think that some of these names are a stretch - given the actual title of the thread...

How about this one...

Yuri Gagarin (34) first man in space.

Kind of off topic but was overseas recently and talking to some avid sailors.

The Bison Dele story is almost ledgend amongst the sailing fraternity as i found out.

The boat that it all happened on alledgedly disappeared and turned up in Asia somewhere repainted and with a new name. Apparently the boat was easily identified as it had some unique features or something.

The boat has had quite a James Dean Porsche 550 9 if you dont know what i mean check THAT out for creepy) story of lots of people that come in contact with it ending up killed or injured in some way.

We have Jason Collier, but no John Bonham (Led Zep)? Died at 32.

John Lennon died at 40 years, 2 months. But I think he deserves a mention.

Hansie Cronje- Plane tried to go through mountian instead of over it. (32)

Mama Cass- Ham Sandwich...

shit, how did i forget this...

Ol' Dirty Bastard - overdose on drugs, but some would say very suspicious death

did reggie lewis get mentioned?

Aaliyah, 22, US singer and actress, plane crash in the Bahamas.

Troy Broadbridge, 24, Melbourne AFL Player, Asian tsunami victim

Darrell Abbott (Diamond Darrell, Dimebag Darrell), 38, fmr Pantera guitarist, shot dead in Columbus, Ohio

Pat Tillman, 27, former NFL player (Arizona Cardinals), Army Ranger, killed in in action by friendly fire

Spot Fetcher, 14, President George W. Bush's dog

Yinka Dare, 32, Nigerian fmr New Jersey Nets player

Colin McRae, 39, Scottish rally driver (chopper crash)

Can't believe this one hasn't deserved a mention.

Jeff Buckley, drowned in the Mississippi, aged 32

Keith Moon drummer of the WHO. Once jammed on stage with John Bonham in encores for Led Zep in LA. (Wikipedia)

Kurt Cobain, anyone? Although he looked about 40 was only like 26,27 I think.