Ex-Sixer Armen Gilliam dies
Armen Gilliam, who spent three seasons with the 76ers in the early 1990s, died Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. He was 47.
Ex-Sixer Armen Gilliam dies
Armen Gilliam, who spent three seasons with the 76ers in the early 1990s, died Tuesday night. He was 47.
Gilliam died from a heart attack suffered while playing pickup basketball at an LA Fitness not far from his home in suburban Pittsburgh. He was rushed to St. Clair Hospital and was pronounced dead, according to the report.
In 13 NBA seasons he averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds playing for seven teams. He played for the Suns, Hornets, Sixers, Nets, Bucks and Jazz in his 13 years in the NBA, making the playoffs five times and never getting out of the second round.
Gilliam and Dave Hoppen were traded by the Charlotte Hornets to the Sixers for Mike Gminski in January 1991. With the Sixers, Gilliam averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 211 games from 1990-91 to 1992-93 until his departure as a free agent to New Jersey. He started 81 games in the 1991-92 season, averaging 16.9 points. He also started eight playoff games for the Sixers.
"We are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of Armen Gilliam," said Sixers president Rod Thorn. "He was a hard-working, physical player during his distinguished 13 years in the NBA and we are proud of the contributions he made to the Sixers from 1990 to 1993. On behalf of the entire Sixers organization, we send our deepest condolences to the Gilliam family during this very difficult time."
Nicknamed The Hammer, Gilliam was the No. 2 overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1987 NBA draft behind David Robinson.
He also was one of the best players ever at UNLV. He was named to the all-tournament team at the Final Four in 1987 and set the school record with 998 points scored.
“In my ratings, I had Larry Johnson No. 1 and Armen No. 2. He was such a great person. Everybody loved him and he loved everybody,” former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian said in a statement. “He was such a gentle person and such a caring guy. I am all shook up over it. I think the world of him and am just really shocked.”
Gilliam was inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.
"Like most people, I am in shock," said Brad Rothermel, who was UNLV's athletics director during the time that Gilliam starred as a Runnin' Rebel and now serves as a special advisor to the athletics director. "Certainly, our wishes go out to his family. He was one of those student-athletes that never caused a problem. He was an excellent player for us and in recent years he was always a regular that would come back for the Legends games at the beginning of each season. Not only would he play, but he would dominate those games. We will really miss him."
Gilliam later came out of retirement and played for the Pittsburgh Xplosion, of the ABA, during the 2005-06 season. He also served as the head coach at Penn State-McKeesport and then Penn State-Altoona in the early 2000s.
Born as Armon Louis Gilliam, he later changed the spelling of his first name to Armen to better reflect the pronunciation.
A tribute video detailing Gilliam's career is embedded below. You can also CLICK HERE for a video of Gilliam dunking over Charles Barkley during a Sixers-Suns game.
RIP "The Hammer"— ignorantphillydem- The Hammer. Barkley never liked the poor guy.— AlonzoMoselyFBI
Comment removed.- Always was a Gilliam fan. RIP— stikolaboloni
- Too young to go. Wonder what kind of shape he was in to have a heart attack playing BB.— P Even
- He brought the "gumby" haircut to the NBA. Rest In Peace.— Don Cornelius
- If Charles "The Racist" Barkely didn't like him, he must have been a good guy.— neddyflanders
- great post! — advantasux
- the hammer...he boofed on chuck's membrane...he was aiight even though i hated unlv...i was hype for temple when they had mark macon and howie evans, tim perry, mike vreeswyk....ahhh...the good ol days— mizloonar
- RIP Hammer— cheesesteak17
- i thought it was Armon with an 'O', no? best gumby cut ever and also weirdest commercial ever with that midget a few years ago. RIP Hammer.
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- I recall Barkley one time calling him 'Charmon' Gilliam because he was 'soft in the middle'. Don't squeeze the 'Charmon' he would say...RIP Armon.— 25years/100seasonsandcounting
- Too young. We'll miss you, Gumby.
— thooper308 - Way too young to be dying from a heart attack.— twpman
- Everyone's giving Barkley a hard time here bcuz he used to give Gilliam the bizness when he was a Sixer. But let's not forget it was really Rick Mahorn who hated Gilliam. Barkley just liked Mahorn's tough-guy style, which contradicted Gilliam.— makrom
- Barkley is a cartoon character. RIP Armen.....— Clay Bigsby
- Sad. How crappy does Charles feel now, after all the hazing that he gave the Hammer while he was in Philly?— Phront_Runner
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- I remember this guy as a good scorer, not much on defence on the Sixers. Such a shame. Story said he was a good guy.— PhillyScott
- R.I.P. Hammer. You couldn't play a lick of D but you were a decent scorer. I never disliked the Hammer as a Sixer.— MrBigDizzle
- brotherman1,R.I.P BIG GIL...— brotherman1
- back with the ancestors.— only 9
- i'll miss the 'hammer' but not those awful uniforms. condolences to his family and friends.— esesjay
- I remember his solid post game and rebounding. Dude was good for 16 and 8 every game. Way too young for him to go. Sad. Rest in Peace, Armon.— MrMiles1
- RIP Armon!
Only by the Grace of God am I still here on this earth. I was 46 and in good shape (tennis and basketball) player. I too had a heart attack but was able to have surgery. I was shocked...
This is a reminder to have regular checkup and never take life for granted.— Hape2BAlive - sad to hear. i was a fan.— fishtown charlie
- RIP, sorry to hear this.— hillbillybirdsfan
- Gumby, from the Running Rebels till ya left the Sixers...............RIP— bearsfriend
- I still remember when Armen was "Armon" and Hakeem was "Akeem," and Bison Dele was "Brian Willliams."— J H
- He died playing basketball. He was way too young to go, but I hope, I am fortunate enough to go doing something I love. Many great athletes don't get complete physicals. Pistol Pete's heart problems went undetected. He died on the court too. RIP. Thanks for being part of Philly basketball.— GA in Blue Bell
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- I thik its kind of ironic. I never got the sense he was one of those guys that LOVED the game. RIP Armen...— yobill626
- Sat in front of Armon in Communications 101 at UNLV. When I would fall asleep he would tap me on the shoulder, saying, "hey, man, she gonna call on you man, here's what you need to say!" He was always right! I returned the favor by taking notes for him when the Rebels were on the road. Thanks for all the great memories, Hammer, RIP.— nickgp
- RIP— corporatehuman
- Very Sad to hear :(— Ashburn072
- was always a fan of armen...RIP...i remember his UNLV days well— john dorian
- i'm glad to see most of the posters being respectful to armon. but as usual there were a couple people who had to get their digs in on armon or charles. way to be classy scumbags! armon wasn't the greatest sixer but he stayed out of trouble and was as professional as you could ask a player to be. that seems like a lost art these days. 47 is too soon for anyone. RIP Armon.— 76ers in 2076
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- Too young to die...RIP Hammer!— Jawnstein
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
