Former Spur Dwayne Schintzius passes away at 43

Former San Antonio Spurs center Dwayne Schintzius has passed away at 43 after a long battle with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML), an uncommon blood cancer. He passed away Sunday afternoon from respiratory failure.

Schintzius had endured months of complications after receiving a second bone-marrow transplant, his younger brother Travis said.

“He’s at peace now,’’ Schintzius’ brother said. “He’s not suffering any more. Now he’s probably cracking jokes and making people laugh in heaven.’’

Dwayne was drafted by the Spurs in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft. He played one season with San Antonio before being traded to the Kings.

Though his time with the Spurs was short-lived, he was known for his mullet and his much maligned pro basketball career. It is said that former Spurs GM Bob Bass had asked him to cut his mullet and when he did, he sent the clipping to Bass. That is what apparently got him traded to the Kings.

Dwayne would play with several teams in the NBA such as the Celtics, Clippers, Nets and Pacers before playing in the D-League and the USBL.

Last year, he was honored for his battle with Leukemia and now that he has succumbed to Leukemia, his brother has some poignant words on Dwayne.

“There probably aren’t many people who had a life like my brother did,’’ Travis Schintzius said. “He was an amazing guy with a huge heart. He knows how many people loved him. And especially the last few years, he loved a lot of people right back. We’re going to miss him, but we know that he left us truly knowing what was important in life. He was blessed that way.’’