He won a ring with the Lakers in 1972, then was traded to the worst team in NBA history. One son was a first-round pick, another was shot to death. Now he battles cancer.
LeRoy Ellis once blocked Wilt Chamberlain's shot.
"I was sorry I did and would never do it again," the former Lakers center says, laughing. "He must have dunked on me the next five times down. He just went bang, bang, bang.
"I said to myself, 'Dang, you should have let a sleeping giant lie,' because he just went to town on me."
For the affable Ellis, this qualifies as a sweet memory.
Cancer has ravaged his body.
"It's kind of a terminal deal," the father of five says from his home in Columbia City, Ore., about 30 miles north of Portland. "The doctor is very candid. He said the only thing I really have to look forward to is getting worse."
But Ellis is hardly morose...................
