Former NBA player Michael Wright may have been murdered in a gay dating app attack

AN NBA player has been found dead in the back of his car and police are investigating a truly shocking potential motivation behind the attack.

NBA player murdered with Grinder link

A FORMER Knicks draft pick has been found murdered in his SUV in Brooklyn, police sources said.

Michael Wright, 35, was discovered sprawled in the back seat of his vehicle, covered in garbage bags, around 11am Tuesday in Midwood. He had a puncture wound above his left eyebrow, cops said.

The Lexus SUV had been sitting on E. 16th Street near Avenue I since Sunday, neighbours told police.

Wright’s roommate Mark Holdbrook had reported him missing from their Closter, NJ, home Sunday, but Holdbrook told authorities he hadn’t seen his roommate since last Thursday.

The college hoop star was born in Chicago and was a forward for the Arizona Wildcats before being drafted by the Knicks in 2001.

Yet he never made it onto the roster, and instead played overseas in a number of different countries — including Poland, Turkey, and South Korea.

“He left his French team in February and was planning to go back to Europe and play,” Wright’s cousin, Randolph Berry, told the Chicago Sun Times Wednesday.

“He wasn’t planning on retiring,” Berry said.

Berry also told the New York Daily News the whole family is shocked.

“We are in disbelief,” he said.

Michael Wright was a star in Europe.

“They’re telling us it’s foul play. His mum is on her way to New York now.

“He’s a gentle giant. He was a good person.”

Berry said he didn’t know why someone would hurt his cousin, who on the court was an imposing 6-foot-8 power forward.

The tragedy was being felt across the United States.

University of Arizona coach Sean Miller opened his press conference today by saying he is praying for Wright and his family.

Sean Miller opens press conference with heartfelt statement on Michael Wright, says he is praying for his family. pic.twitter.com/FKoKlupOaQ

— KGUNSports (@KGUNSports) November 11, 2015

Sean Miller addresses Michael Wright death: "It's devastating, and it certainly affects our basketball program."

— AZ Desert Swarm (@azdesertswarm) November 11, 2015

Wright graduated from Arizona in 2001 after one of the greatest College careers in the school’s basketball history.

He also attended high school with NBA legend Kevin Garnett at the famous Farragut Academy in Chicago.

The New York Daily reported police are investigating the possibility Wright was murdered by someone he met on gay dating app Grinder.

“We don’t know anything about his personal life,” Berry said.

“All we know is that he did damage overseas. When he played ball, he destroyed everyone in front of him.”