Photo: Davidwbaker / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Tarpley is one of basketball's great what-ifs, and I find his story genuinely haunting. A 211 cm force out of New York, he won Big Ten Player of the Year and the NBA Sixth Man Award in 1988, flashing the kind of two-way dominance that hints at greatness. Then addiction took it all, a permanent ban in 1995, a journeyman stint across Europe, and an early death at 50. I don't write him off as a cautionary tale; I read it as a reminder of how little separates triumph from tragedy, and how the sport so rarely catches its falling stars in time.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Roy Tarpley
- Name (Japanese)
- ロイ・タープリー
- Reading
- ろい・たーぷりー
- Born
- November 28, 1964 – January 9, 2015
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Dragon
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 211 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- basketball player
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Cooley High School
- University
- University of Michigan
Awards & achievements
- 1985 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy%20Tarpley
Frequently asked questions
When was Roy Tarpley born?
November 28, 1964 – January 9, 2015.
Where is Roy Tarpley from?
Roy Tarpley is from New York City, New York, United States.
What does Roy Tarpley do?
Roy Tarpley works as basketball player.
How tall is Roy Tarpley?
Roy Tarpley is 211 cm.
Basketball player — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-23
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.