José “Piculín” Ortiz, a centre who played briefly in the NBA but was regarded as one of Puerto Rico's greatest ever basketball players, has died at the age of 62. The Puerto Rico Basketball Federation confirmed that he passed away on Tuesday at Ashford Hospital in San Juan, surrounded by his wife Sylvia Ríos and daughter Neira Ortiz. He had been suffering from colorectal cancer since late 2023.
The federation paid tribute, saying: “Puerto Rico loses more than an athlete. It loses a legend. Thank you for so much joy, for representing our flag with pride, and for taking the island’s name to the highest level.” Ortiz played two seasons at Oregon State University, where he was named Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year in 1986-87 after averaging 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. He was selected 15th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 1987 NBA draft.
After initially playing in Spain with Zaragoza, he joined the Jazz for parts of the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. Ortiz later returned to Europe for stints with Real Madrid and Barcelona, and also played in Venezuela before retiring in 2006. He represented Puerto Rico at four World Championships (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002) and four Olympic Games (1988, 1992, 1996, 2004), and was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2019.
One of his most memorable achievements came at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when he helped Puerto Rico hand the United States its first Olympic defeat since the introduction of professional players. Following his playing career, Ortiz faced legal troubles. In 2011, he was arrested on drug possession charges after federal agents discovered 218 marijuana plants at a property he was renting. He was initially ordered to a rehabilitation clinic but later tested positive for cocaine and served six months in jail.
