José 'Piculín' Ortiz, a prominent Puerto Rican basketball player, passed away at the age of 62 on Tuesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after a battle with colorectal cancer. The Puerto Rico Basketball Federation confirmed his death, stating, 'Puerto Rico loses more than an athlete. It loses a legend.' Ortiz was a standout player at Oregon State University, where he earned the title of Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year in 1986-87, averaging 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He was selected 15th overall in the 1987 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, though he chose to play professionally in Spain before joining the Jazz in 1988. Throughout his career, Ortiz played for several teams, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, and returned to Puerto Rico before retiring in 2006. He represented Puerto Rico in four World Championships and four Olympic Games, famously helping the team defeat the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Ortiz was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2019. Despite his athletic success, Ortiz faced legal issues later in life, including a drug possession conviction in 2011.