Jerome Kersey dead at 52

Former longtime Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerome Kersey died on Wednesday at the age of 52, the team confirmed.

Kersey was a second-round pick by the Blazers out of Longwood in 1984 and played 11 of his 17 career seasons in Portland.

Kersey averaged 10.3 points per game throughout his career, including a career-best 19.2 points per game during the ’87-’88 season. He helped the ’91-’92 Blazers reach the NBA Finals where they lost to the Chicago Bulls, and he also was a key piece on the ’89-’90 team that reached the Finals. Kersey is second behind Clyde Drexler in most games played for the franchise.

The timing of Kersey’s death is nothing short of shocking. Not only was he only 52, but on Tuesday he joined Brian Grant and Terry Porter to talk Black History Month at Madison High School in Portland.

Blazer greats @jkersey25 and @tpltgolf hugged it out today as they talked Black History Month at Madison High. pic.twitter.com/8PZpxQgJIN — Bruce Ely (@bruceely) February 17, 2015

Kersey’s Twitter feed was full of photos from charity events he attended and participated in.

Here are some great images of Kersey from his career:

Rest In Peace, Jerome Kersey pic.twitter.com/G5LuSB4lGA — Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 19, 2015

The tributes started coming in from current/former Blazers:

I'm sad 1 of the all time blazers greats and friend of mine Jerome Kersey passed away! RIP JK you'll be missed!! — Damon Stoudamire (@Iambiggie503) February 19, 2015

R.I.P Jerome kersey ,Spoke to him regularly about life and the ups and downs of a NBA season. Gone too soon, much love! Prayers 2 the family — Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) February 19, 2015

Rip Jerome Kersey… — Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) February 19, 2015

Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears first reported news of Kersey’s death.