Former Los Angeles Laker, NBA Champion Elden Campbell Dead at 57

Elden Campbell -- a longtime Los Angeles Lakers big man and key figure on the team during the '90s -- has died at 57, TMZ can confirm.

Family sources tell TMZ ... he died suddenly Monday, but they declined to reveal his cause of death. We're told he was not sick.

The 6'11" center spent 15 years in the NBA -- more than half of that run in the purple and gold. The Lakers drafted Campbell in the first round in 1990, and he went on to share the floor with icons like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Campbell became a reliable force in L.A. ... averaging nearly 15 points per game in the 1996-97 season.

He was traded to the Charolette Hornets in 1999, where he filled up the stat sheet and put up some of his strongest numbers.

Ironically, he earned a championship ring with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 ... defeating the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Campbell also had stints with the New Orleans Hornets, Seattle SuperSonics and New Jersey Nets.

He was 57.