Assane Drame, an employee of the Clippers’ digital content group who was remembered by the team and friends as a creative mind and loyal friend, died Monday in a traffic accident in Los Angeles, according to the team.

Drame was 26. He had lived in Los Angeles since 2019, when he was hired by the Clippers as a video intern. He later became a video assistant within the department, and was known for his work creating video vignettes published on social media.

In a statement, the team said it was mourning a dedicated employee known as more than a videographer.

“He was a hard worker and a gentle soul, passionate about his craft and kind to his colleagues, earning the respect and admiration of players, coaches and staff,” the team said.

Drame was born in New York City’s Bronx borough and later raised in New Jersey, southeast of Philadelphia, where he attended high school, according to his personal website. He graduated from Rowan University with a degree in radio, television and film, after working as a videographer within the school’s athletics department, according to his LinkedIn profile, and contributed analysis about the Phoenix Suns for a blog where his biography described himself as “one of the three or four Suns fans in the area.”

He also worked at the school’s television network, where he stood out as “a positive and jovial person,” said Taylor Forte, who met Drame while working on shows at the network and later moved to Los Angeles, as well.

“What stood out is his presence when he was just in the building,” Forte said. “Even if we weren’t on the same show at the same time, whoever he would pass in the hallway, he would have this big, big smile.”

Drame had worked the team’s media day Monday at its Playa Vista facility and late that night stopped by the team’s downtown business office to pick up equipment, according to a roommate, Marina Lopez. When he was not heard from by the following afternoon, and his car was not found at the Palms property where they lived with another roommate, she filed a missing person’s report with Los Angeles police Tuesday afternoon. Friends in the city began a search for his whereabouts on social media, she said. The same day, the head of the Clippers’ human resources department contacted Drame’s father and sister in New Jersey out of concern for his whereabouts.