Former Miami Heat center Alec Kessler, an NBA first-round pick who wound up achieving more in the medical field than on the court, died Saturday in Pensacola of an apparent heart attack.

According to a release from the University of Georgia, Kessler, 40, was playing in a pick-up basketball game when stricken.

Kessler, a first-round pick in 1990, was acquired from the Heat on draft day that year and spent four seasons with the team through 1994, averaging 5.2 points.