“It’s a Terrible Loss”: Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal Open Up as They Mourn Jason Collins and Brandon Clarke
The NBA lost two of its own within hours. Jason Collins , the first openly gay player in league history, lost his battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, while 29-year-old Brandon Clarke , the Grizzlies forward whose toughness defined a Memphis era, died after a struggle with substance use. Both deaths hit before Game 5 of Spurs-Timberwolves. And by the time the Inside the NBA crew took their seats, the grief was already written on their faces.
Collins broke barriers in 2013 when he became the first active NBA player to come out publicly- a moment that reshaped how the league talked about identity. Clarke, meanwhile, was the kind of teammate every locker room quietly relies on: selfless, hard-nosed, and beloved. Losing either would have been devastating. Losing both was something else entirely. It recalled one of the darkest stretches in league memory. The deaths of Kobe Bryant and Gigi in 2025, when Barkley and O’Neal similarly broke down on live television, unable to separate the player from the person.
Charles Barkley didn’t hold back. “I hate the way this story ended because he was a shining example of ‘Do you man’… For him to come out, it was great. Obviously, you know a lot of times, especially in the black community, when you’re gay, you get treated awful and that sucks too. But I was proud of him for coming out,” Barkley said about Collins. On Clarke, the pain was just as raw: “Man, it’s a terrible loss for him and his family. It just sucks. It was a tough day for the NBA.”
It wasn’t the first time Barkley wore his heart on his sleeve in moments like this. When the league mourned Kobe, Barkley was visibly shattered on set, a rare crack in the armor of one of basketball’s most outspoken figures.
Clarke was only 29, expected to play a major role in reviving the Grizzlies. His 2025-26 campaign was hit with lower-body injuries, limiting him to only two appearances. But Brandon Clarke played with toughness and heart, a trait that saw the Grizzlies’ rampant rise. Barkley felt immense pain that substance use, something Clarke did struggle with, led to such extreme consequences.
His Inside the NBA co-analyst Shaquille O’Neal actually knew Jason Collins and his twin brother, Jarron. They first crossed paths in high school- a bond that made O’Neal’s tribute on Inside the NBA more personal than most. O’Neal has never been one to hide grief publicly.
After the passing of his former Lakers teammate Rick Fox’s mother, and more recently after Kobe’s death, Shaq openly wept- each time reminding audiences that behind the larger-than-life persona was someone who felt loss deeply. And, like Barkley, the Big Diesel spoke with reverence when recalling Collins.
“We only live one lifetime, and you must always speak your truth. And he spoke his truth. I’m proud about that. But overall, he was a great human being. Brother is a great human being, comes from a great family, and again, my condolences go out to the family,” Shaq said on Inside the NBA.
Jaren Jackson Jr’s emotional tribute to Brandon Clarke
Both losses deeply affected the league. Commissioner Adam Silver described feeling “devastated” after losing two members of the NBA family. The league community came together to honor both Jason Collins and Brandon Clarke. In Clarke’s case, his passing was especially difficult for his current and former teammates to accept.
Clarke was a strong locker room presence in Memphis. Ja Morant , a mercurial star, played fearless basketball with the power forward. He posted a series of pictures on his Instagram stories to celebrate Clarke. It “hurt” knowing he wouldn’t see his brother in the locker room again.
Jaren Jackson Jr. felt the same way. He wasn’t going to be teammates with Clarke, having been traded to the Jazz . However, JJJ connected with the Grizzlies forward.
“I couldn’t imagine a world where this was even a possibility. I love you forever, brother. This is absolutely devastating. I just wish I could talk to you,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
The short layoff between both deaths has left the NBA family crushed. Nobody expected to get such devastating news. It still doesn’t feel real, and it’s going to be hard to move on from it.
Jackson and many former and current NBA players must have felt the same way: “I will never have the words to describe what this feels like,” the former Grizzlies forward wrote.
Trending Articles
The post “It’s a Terrible Loss”: Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal Open Up as They Mourn Jason Collins and Brandon Clarke appeared first on EssentiallySports . Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
