Eric Montrose, retired from injury, died of cancer

In addition to old fans who have started watching the NBA in the last century, will anyone remember Eric Montrose? The former Yao Ming era big center who retired due to injury and died of cancer.

Eric Montross, Eric Montross, 7 feet tall (213cm), plays as center (C). He was born in Indianapolis, the capital and largest city of Indiana, USA in September 1971. He was produced by the University of North Carolina. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft and has since entered the NBA. In his eight-year NBA career, Eric Montrose has played for six teams, including the Celtics, Mavericks (now known as Mavericks), Nets, 76ers, Pistons and Raptors. He has played in a total of 465 games in the regular season, including 288 starts, averaging 18.2 minutes per game, scoring 4.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks. In the playoffs, they played 16 games, starting in 4 games, averaging 10.5 minutes per game, scoring 1.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 0.3 blocks. In addition to being handsome, Eric Montrose is also very physically compatible and is not afraid of confrontation. In addition, his outstanding height allows him to effectively block the position, have natural advantages in rebounding, have strong defensive ability, and is a good basket guard. However, the offensive methods are few, and the scoring is mainly focused on strong attacks and close shooting at the basket, so it is impossible to support and pass the ball. It is difficult to achieve other things on the court except for defending at the basket.

Although Eric Montrose's NBA career performance did not meet expectations, there were also some outstanding highlights. On February 17, 1995, local time in the United States, in the Boston Celtics lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 121:127 away game, Eric Montrose started for 50 minutes, made 13 of 15 shots, and made 2 of 3 free throws, scoring the highest single-game 28 points in the NBA career, plus 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. On March 18, 1997 local time, in the New Jersey Nets (now known as the Brooklyn Nets) lost to the Houston Rockets at 89:97 at home, Eric Montrose started for 34 minutes, scored 6 points, 3 assists and 3 blocks, and took the NBA career-high 18 rebounds from the head of the Great Dream Olajuwon. On April 16, 1997, in the New Jersey Nets' home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Eric Montrose started for 33 minutes, scored 6 points and 1 assist, and scored a NBA career-high 18 rebounds and 5 blocks.

In 2002, Eric Montrose accidentally fell at home, causing a fracture of his left foot. In order to ensure healing, he had to be unable to move for a year after the operation, so he had no choice but to retire. After retiring, Montrose used his popularity to start involved in sports, real estate and other related commercial investments. Since 2015, he has served as a radio analyst for the University of North Carolina men's basketball game, and later served as a game commentator for Talshire Sports Network. In addition, he is also actively involved in public welfare. He co-founded the Eric Montrose Father's Day basketball training camp with his wife, and also founded the "Vaccine Ambassador" organization with other like-minded people, dedicated to distributing vaccines in poor areas around the world. Unfortunately, in December 2023, Eric Montrose died of cancer at the age of 52.