Brandon Clarke

Brandon Clarke was born on 19 September 1996 in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Whitney Triplett, who is Canadian, and Steve Clarke, who is Jamaican. When he was three, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he grew up and eventually held dual Canadian and American citizenship. Tall, athletic, and quiet by temperament, he made his name first at Desert Vista High School, leading the team to the Arizona Division 1 championship game in 2015 and earning All-Arizona honours from the Arizona Republic.

He began his college career at San Jose State University. As a freshman he was named Mountain West Conference Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play. As a sophomore he jumped to 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.3 assists per game, landing on the All-Mountain West First Team and the conference All-Defensive Team. Seeking a higher stage, he transferred to Gonzaga University, sat out 2017-18 as a redshirt, then exploded in 2018-19. That season he became the first player in West Coast Conference history to win both Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same year, while also earning first-team All-WCC and third-team All-American recognition from The Sporting News and the Associated Press. In the NCAA tournament against Baylor on 23 March 2019 he scored a career-high 36 points with eight rebounds and five blocks, joining Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson as one of only three players to post at least 35 points and five blocks in a tournament game, and breaking Adam Morrison's Gonzaga record for points in an NCAA tournament contest.

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Clarke twenty-first overall in the 2019 NBA draft, then traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies for Darius Bazley and a future second-round pick. In the 2019 Summer League he won both overall MVP and championship game MVP, the first non-American to sweep those honours, as Memphis took the title. He debuted in the NBA on 23 October 2019 against Miami and, as a rookie, set a career high of 27 points, played in the Rising Stars Challenge, and was named to the 2019-20 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Clarke spent his entire NBA career with Memphis. He was a high-efficiency finisher and rim protector who thrived next to Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. during the Grizzlies' return to the playoffs. In the 2022 first round against Minnesota he posted playoff career highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds in Game 5, then helped close out the series in Game 6. Memphis fell to Golden State in the conference semifinals. In October 2022 he signed a four-year, 52 million dollar extension. Injuries then shadowed his later seasons: a torn left Achilles in March 2023 ended that year; a high-grade PCL sprain in March 2025 ended 2024-25 after 64 games; knee synovitis surgery followed in September 2025; and a right calf strain in March 2026 ended a 2025-26 season in which he appeared in only two games. Across seven seasons he played 309 regular-season games, averaging 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds on 60.5 percent shooting.

Away from the floor he started the Brandon Clarke Foundation in 2025, supporting literacy and mentorship through ARISE2Read and hosting youth events in Memphis. Teammates and local writers described a selfless, warm presence who rarely sought the spotlight. In April 2026 he was arrested in Cross County, Arkansas, on charges including possession and trafficking of a controlled substance (kratom, scheduled in that state), fleeing, and speeding over 100 miles per hour. He was released on bond with an arraignment set for mid-May.

Clarke died on 11 May 2026 in Los Angeles at the age of 29. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner later ruled the death an accident caused by the combined effects of heroin and cocaine, with other prescription medications listed as contributing factors. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the Grizzlies, the National Basketball Players Association, and players across the league publicly mourned him. In June 2026, Complex Canada ranked him twentieth among the best Canadian basketball players of all time. His career remains a story of elite athleticism, defensive instinct, and a short, hard-fought run as a cornerstone of Memphis's modern playoff era.