Cops: Michael Wright, professional basketball player, found dead in Brooklyn
Michael Wright, a former Knicks draft pick in 2001, was found dead in his car in Midwood, Brooklyn, officials said. Wright is pictured above on Jan. 16, 1999 during a game he played as an University of Arizona Wildcat. Credit: Marc Piscotty / Allsport
Michael Wright, a professional basketball player who was drafted by the Knicks in 2001, was found dead in his car in Brooklyn -- the victim of an apparent homicide, according to police.
Wright, 35, was found Tuesday morning slumped down in the back of a Lexus SUV near the intersection of Avenue I and E. 16th Street in the Midwood section, police said.
Police said he had an impact wound to his head that likely caused serious brain injuries.
Wright had been living in Closter, New Jersey, with a roommate, who reported him missing on Nov. 5, an NYPD spokesman said. License plate readers helped police locate the SUV, the spokesman said.
Police didn't release a motive in the case.
A Chicago native, Wright was a high school basketball star at the city's Farragut Academy. At the University of Arizona, he was a 6-foot-8 power forward on a team that made it to the NCAA title game in 2001, losing to Duke.
Wright was drafted in the second round by the Knicks but didn't sign with any NBA teams, opting instead to play overseas. During his career, he played for teams in France, Poland, Turkey and Israel, according to news reports. In 2014-15, he was with Cholet Basket in France.
"He left his French team in February and was planning to go back to Europe and play," Randolph Berry, Wright's cousin, told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday. "He wasn't planning on retiring."
