Len Bias

Leonard K. Bias (November 18, 1963 – June 19, 1986) was a basketball player who died of a cocaine overdose less than 48 hours after being selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Draft.

From Landover, Maryland, Bias attended the University of Maryland, College Park where he became a star player and All-American. Wearing number 34, he impressed basketball fans with his amazing leaping ability and his ability to create plays. He was selected as Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year in 1985 and 1986. Bias was selected second overall in the 1986 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

Bias died on June 19, 1986 of a cocaine overdose in a dorm on the College Park campus. Bias was 22 years old. Breaking the hearts of many sports fans, his death was used as an anti-drug campaign during the 1980s. His death also contributed to the forced resignation of then-Maryland basketball coach Lefty Driesell and Athletic Director Dick Dull, and the hiring of coach Bob Wade. Tragically, just short of four years later, Bias' younger brother Jay, a promising high school player, was shot to death in a dispute in the parking lot of Prince Georges Plaza mall in Maryland.