Granville S. Waiters (January 8, 1961 – March 23, 2021) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. At 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and 225 lb (102 kg), Waiters played

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. As a senior in high school, Waiters helped Columbus East to a state championship over St. Joseph, who were led by his eventual Buckeyes and Pacers teammate Clark Kellogg. During the 1982-83 season for Ohio State, he was a team captain and averaged 10.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He was drafted by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in the second round of the 1983 NBA draft. The Blazers sold his draft rights to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

, and Waiters spent his first two seasons in Indiana. He then played one year for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

which saw him make an appearance in the

1986 NBA Finals The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1985–86 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Confer ...

and then two years for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

, before he left the NBA for Europe in 1988. On Waiters’ role as a key bench player focused on defense and rebounding on the early

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Bulls, head coach Doug Collins said "He never complained. He played his heart out. He was an awesome guy, a gentle giant off the court..." Waiters averaged 2.4 points and 2.2

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

throughout his NBA career. From 1988 to 1990, Waiters played in the Spanish league as a member of FC Barcelona Basquet and Cajabilbao. Until his death, he was involved with humanitarian efforts in his native Ohio. Following a hospitalization for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

, Waiters died at his home in Columbus on March 23, 2021, at the age of 60. On his death, former teammate

Brad Sellers Bradley Donn Sellers (GOAT)(born December 17, 1962) is an American retired professional basketball player, politician, and radio host serving as the mayor of his hometown, Warrensville Heights, Ohio, as well as a postgame radio analyst for the Cl ...

said "…he taught young players like me what it was to be a professional, how to be appreciative of your moment. He was a great guy to have in the locker room. Granville was like, ‘Listen here, work hard, do your part.' He always acted older than he was, carried himself like that. Just a good guy to be around and have as a teammate."

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Personal Web Site
1961 births 2021 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Columbus, Ohio Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Houston Rockets players Indiana Pacers players Liga ACB players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio {{1960s-US-basketball-bio-stub