TNT sports reporter Craig Sager dies after long battle with cancer at 65

Popular sports broadcaster Craig Sager has died after a long battle with cancer, Turner Broadcasting President David Levy announced in a statement on Thursday. He was 65.

“Craig Sager was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than three decades and he has been a true inspiration to all of us,” Levy wrote. “There will never be another Craig Sager. His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world covering sports.

“While he will be remembered fondly for his colorful attire and the TNT sideline interviews he conducted with NBA coaches and players, it’s the determination, grace and will to live he displayed during his battle with cancer that will be his lasting impact. Our thoughts and prayers are with Craig’s wife, Stacy, and the entire Sager family during this difficult time. We will forever be Sager Strong.”

Sager worked for Turner for more than 30 years. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2014, he tried to work as much as possible during treatment and received his third bone marrow transplant this summer.

His son, Craig Sager II, was a bone marrow donor for one of his father’s transplants and also filled in for him during some of the TNT broadcasts he missed while sick.

“We packed a lifetime and then some into these 28 years together. Pay it forward time!” Sager II wrote on Twitter, where he also posted a slideshow of his father with his children.

Sager was an especially beloved in the NBA community, and the league was quick to react to the news of his death.

And blogger Evan Auerbach put together just a really cool tribute, something Sager surely would have appreciated.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii

UPDATES:

1:15 p.m.: This article was updated with reaction to Sager’s death.

This article was originally published at 12:45 p.m.