The 29-year-old basketball player was entering his seventh NBA season.
Medical Examiner Findings and Autopsy Details
Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to an emergency call at a residence in the 20300 block of Del Campo Place in Woodland Hills shortly after 5 p.m. on May 11, pronouncing him dead at 5:15 p.m. after finding him unresponsive in his bedroom.
Alongside the primary narcotics, the medical examiner’s office listed the combined effects of multiple prescription medications as another significant condition related to his death. A full autopsy report containing the specific names of those prescriptions will be available at a later date according to the medical examiner’s office. A person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that drug paraphernalia was recovered at the scene.
Basketball Career and Injury History in Memphis
Selected 21st overall in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Gonzaga, Clarke spent his entire seven-season professional career with the Grizzlies alongside teammate Ja Morant. He won MVP honors at the 2019 NBA Summer League, becoming the second non-American player to receive the award, and earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie team after averaging 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the 2019-20 season.
Over 309 career games, Clarke averaged 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in roughly 20.8 minutes per contest, establishing himself as a high-energy bench presence and defensive complement to the team’s young core. His recent years, however, were heavily disrupted by injuries. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2023, underwent two separate procedures on his right knee in 2025, and played in just two games during the 2025-26 season due to his knee recovery before a right calf strain sidelined him permanently for the year.
At the time of his passing, Clarke was under contract with Memphis through the 2026-27 season with a year remaining on a four-year contract worth $12.5 million annually. The franchise anticipated his full recovery ahead of the upcoming season according to team statements.
Legal Troubles in Arkansas Preceding the Death
Roughly six weeks prior to his death, Clarke encountered legal trouble during a traffic stop in Cross County, Arkansas. Law enforcement officers clocked him driving a new Corvette at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, leading to a miles-long vehicle pursuit before deputies pulled him over.
Deputies searched the vehicle and discovered several large bags containing roughly 235 grams of kratom—a plant-based herbal extract that remains unapproved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—along with a THC vape pen and drug packaging materials. While kratom is legal for adults over 21 in Tennessee, it is classified as a felony narcotic in Arkansas. Police bodycam video captured Clarke telling officers from the back of a patrol car that It’s just kratom,
an herbal substance often utilized for pain management but labeled by critics as gas station heroin due to addictive properties according to law enforcement accounts.
Clarke was booked on felony counts of trafficking a controlled substance and fleeing law enforcement, alongside misdemeanor charges of drug possession, improper passing, and speeding. He was released on bond the following day and scheduled to appear for an arraignment on May 15 at St. Francis County District Court in Forrest City, Arkansas. The case was dismissed following his death in May.
Community Impact and Tributes Across the Basketball World
In the wake of his passing, memorials emerged outside the FedExForum in Memphis as fans, teammates, and league executives paid tribute. In his final community appearance, Clarke had donated $1,500 to ARISE2Read, a local literacy nonprofit focused on KIPP Collegiate K-8 School. ARISE2Read executive director Dr. La Tonya Mouzon noted that the nonprofit received over 90 donations in the days following his death after Ja Morant shared the organization’s donation link publicly.
“Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.”
The Memphis Grizzlies, via team statement
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