Athletes Who Died In 2021

10-time NBA champion Sam Jones passed away on December 30, 2021. He was 88.

Jones was drafted sight unseen by Red Auerbach in 1957 out of North Carolina Central, a historically Black college. Jones averaged 4.6 points per game his rookie season, but Auerbach liked his speed, intelligence and team-first approach. Due to injuries early in the 1960-61 season, Jones got his shot to start and became a fixture on the championship teams and never looked back. Jones played all 12 of his NBA seasons with the Celtics. Paired with K.C. Jones in the backcourt, he was a shooting guard known for his quickness, his leadership on the court and one of the best bank shots in the game.

Jones was a five-time All-Star and finished his career with 15,411 points, averaging 17.7 points per game. He led the Celtics in scoring for three seasons, and when he retired, he held the franchise record for most points scored in a game with 51, a mark that was broken by Larry Bird. Jones' 10 titles are the second most of any NBA player, behind teammate Bill Russell (11).

He retired from basketball in 1969 at the age of 36. In his final game, a Celtics win over the Lakers in Los Angeles in Game 7 of the Finals, Jones scored 24 points. Jones was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. 

NFL Hall of Fame coach and broadcasting icon John Madden passed away on December 28, 2021. He was 85.

A football star in high school, Madden initially played one season at the College of San Mateo, before bouncing around a few years due to injuries. He settled in at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he played both offense and defense for the Mustangs in 1957 and 1958. He won all-conference honors at offensive tackle, and was also a catcher on Cal Poly's baseball team. Madden was drafted in the 21st round (244th overall) by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1958, but in his first training camp suffered an injury, ending his playing career before he ever got a chance to play professionally. 

Soon after, Madden began coaching at Allan Hancock community college in Santa Maria, California. He worked his way up head coach shortly thereafter, then moved on to San Diego State as a defensive coordinator, which would work as a springboard for his career into the NFL. In 1967, Madden was brought into the NFL as a linebackers coach with the Oakland Raiders. In only two seasons, Madden worked his way up to head coach of the Oakland Raiders - a position he would hold for the next decade. Madden was a Super Bowl champion (XI) in 1977 and earned PFW AFL Coach of the Year honors in 1969. He ended his NFL coaching career with over 100 wins and a .763 winning percentage.  

In 2006, Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his coaching career. He is also widely known for the long-running Madden NFL video game series he has endorsed and fronted since 1988. Madden also worked as a color analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979–1993), Fox (1994–2001), ABC (2002–2005), and NBC (2006–2008). Madden retired from broadcasting after the 2008 NFL season. He also wrote several books and served as a commercial pitchman for various products and retailers.

NFL Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion WR Deymarius Thomas passed away on December 9, 2021. He was 33.

After a standout college career at Georgia Tech, Thomas was drafted in the second round by the Denver Broncos and he went on to play in the NFL for ten years primarily in Denver. With Denver, Thomas made five consecutive Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers.  From 2012-2016, Thomas averaged 98 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns, catching balls from Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning, while joining Hall of Famers Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice and Rams legend Torry Holt as the only players to reach those totals over four consecutive seasons. He went on to finish his career with stints on the Houston Texans, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

On only June 28, 2021, Thomas announced his retirement from professional football. 

Four-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser passed away of natural causes on December 9, 2021. He was 82.

Known as "Big Al" once his own son made a name for himself in racing, Unser is part of an elite club of four-time winners of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." He was the second of four men (A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves) to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987), the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and he won the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985.

The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He was the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child (Al Jr.) as fellow Indy 500 winners (coincidentally, all three captured their final Indy 500 wins racing for Team Penske). Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race.

NFL Pro Bowler Leslie "Speedy" Duncan passed away on December 9, 2021. He was 79.

Undrafted out of Jackson State, Duncan joined the AFL's San Diego Chargers in 1964. Duncan played with the Chargers from from 1964 through 1970 - the team's first season in the NFL. He was an AFL All-Star in 1965, 1966, and 1967 and an AFC-NFC Pro Bowler in 1971. Duncan was also Second-team All-AFL (1965, 1966, 1967) three times. He was honored in the San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team, San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team, and later inducted into the Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame.