Former Celtics, Syracuse Center Fab Melo Dies at Age 26

Former Syracuse Orange and Boston Celtics center Fab Melo was found dead on Saturday at the age of 26.

Adam Zagoria of the New York Times initially reported Melo's death.

"He was a really good kid, and it's not fair that he will be defined by one thing, a 10-page paper," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN. "He worked his tail off to become a really good player, and was a nice kid. We don't know the cause yet. It's so hard right now, so hard to believe. It's a sad, sad day."

Born in Brazil in 1990, Melo made his mark in basketball during two seasons with Syracuse from 2010-12. He appeared in 63 games for the Orange, averaging 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 57.6 percent from the field.

Melo declared for the NBA draft after his sophomore season and was drafted by the Celtics with the 22nd overall pick in 2012. He only appeared in six games with the team during his rookie season and scored a total of seven points.

He also spent time in the NBA Development League while a member of the Celtics and after being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Former Syracuse teammate C.J. Fair spoke about the news:

NBA skills trainer Rob McClanaghan commented on working with Melo:

In 2015, Melo told Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders he was hoping to make an NBA comeback.

"I learned a lot from what I've been through," he said. "Now I feel like I know what I'm dealing with."

In 2014, after two seasons in the D-League, Melo opted to go back to Brazil and play in the Novo Basquete Brasil league.