(RxWiki News) Former Chicago Bulls star Orlando Woolridge has died at the age of 52 following a battle with a chronic heart condition, the Shreveport Times has reported.
He died at the Louisiana home of his parents Thursday night. He had previously been receiving hospice care for a chronic heart condition.
Woolridge played collegiate basketball for Notre Dame, and was a member of the 1978 Final Four team. Following college he began playing for the Chicago Bulls in 1981, where he remained for five years.
During an NBA career that spanned 13 years he played for the New Jersey Nets, the L.A. Lakers, the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers. In 1987, in the middle of his career, he was suspended for substance abuse but still ended his career with a 16-point average and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Woolridge officially retired from professional basketball in 1994, but then played two seasons overseas.
He played in Italy for Benetton Treviso from 1994–95, a team that won both the European Cup and the Italian Cup. Woolridge played for the Buckler Bologna, which won the Italian Supercup, the following season.
Later Woolridge coached WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks and ABA team Arizona Scorpions. In 2010 he was inducted in to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
