Who Was Dan Fegan? Popular NBA Agent Dies In Car Crash

Longtime NBA agent Dan Fegan died in a car crash on Sunday, Colorado authorities confirmed.

Fegan, 56, was driving an SUV and tried to merge onto a highway when he was broadsided by a bus near Aspen, 180 miles west of Denver, Colorado.

"Today we lost a great man, father, son and brother who always stood up not only for his clients, but also for what he knew was right," a spokesman, Terry Fahn of Sitrick and Company, conveyed in a statement released by the Fegan family, ESPN reported. "We are all shocked and saddened by this tragic development and appreciate the outpouring of support. We ask for privacy at this difficult time."

Fegan's 5-year-old son and a 29-year-old California woman, who were in the car with him during the crash, were airlifted to a nearby hospital. The CEO of Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, who owns the vehicle which collided with Fegan’s car, confirmed none of the bus passengers were injured and the bus did not have time to avoid the accident.

Fegan’s first client as a sports agent was his Yale Law School (he graduated from the school) fellow student and friend Chris Dudley. He went on to represent clients such as Dwight Howard, Kris Humphries, Chandler Parsons, Ricky Rubio, John Wall, Yi Jianlian and Demarcus Cousins.

He ran his own agency till 2010 when it was bought out by French businessman Arnaud Lagardere, who renamed the company Lagardere Unlimited.

In 2016, Fegan was ranked 23rd in Forbes’ list of Sports Agents. It is also the year Fegan signed an estimated $582.7 million in contracts for 17 clients.

In 2012, Fegan made headlines when it was revealed he was leaking information about a meeting between Dwight Howard and Rob Hennigan, the Magic General Manager, the Richest reported. In March 2017, he was fired by his employer Independent Sports and Entertainment (ISE) on the claim that he was "poisoning employer's business."

Despite the controversies, Fegan was well-loved in the world of the NBA. Many players as well as other sports personalities offered their condolences on the event of Fegan’s death.

"I knew Dan as a friend and a neighbor long before we developed a team executive-player agent relationship," Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said. "The NBA players he represented have lost a tireless advocate for their interests and well being while NBA teams will miss having a highly intelligent, professional representative to partner with in the management and development of his clients on their rosters."

Mavericks' Mark Cuban said: "Dan was the first agent who realized I was serious about basketball, winning and learning as much as I could about the game.”

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge recalled sharing a personal bond with the late NBA agent. "I just remember Dan very emotionally talking to me about getting whatever help we could provide his family in getting his brother into Mass General (Hospital) as quickly as possible for treatment," Ainge said. "He cared so deeply about helping his brother."