It was the fall of 1996 when Chris Bernard joined Adelphi. He had already spent one year on the men’s basketball team at Rider University and, prior to that, earned First Team All-Queens honors and was voted MVP and team captain at Thomas Edison High School. However, at Adelphi, Bernard capped his collegiate career in style. He was a part of the 1998-99 squad that won the program’s first conference tournament in a 75-73 double-overtime triumph against St. Rose. After college, he dabbled with coaching but eventually made his way to the New York Knicks as Vice President of Player Development, Marketing, and Team Operations.

But the man is no more. He died last Wednesday at the age of 47 because of heart complications. Upon hearing the news, Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau stated, “Just sad. And obviously condolences go to his family. Thoughts and prayers are with them. I was with the Knicks (as an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy) when he was hired. And just an unbelievable person. A bright light every day. Great energy. Positive. Just sad. Really sad.”

Bernard had worked for the team for over a decade. He is survived by his wife, Amanda, and three children. It was just in June 2024, that he and his wife had celebrated eight years of their marriage. He was looking forward to a successful 2025 in terms of his professional and personal life. No wonder Dwyane Wade has been having a tough time accepting his dear friend’s passing.

Wade shared the heartbreaking news of losing Chris Bernard—the co-founder of Rebrand and someone who had been a big help on one of his recent projects. Wade’s tribute was heartfelt. It showed just how much Chris Bernard meant to him; Not just as a business partner, but as someone who truly believed in what he was building.

“Rest in Heaven🙏🏼,” wrote Dwyane Wade on his Instagram story, while also sharing the post from the company Rebrand. This is heartbreaking for Wade, as in November, he mourned the loss of Bob Love, also known as Butterbean.

Rebrand’s post read, “It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our founder Chris Bernard.”

“Chris was a man of unwavering faith, with boundless generosity and genuine warmth. His influence and leadership in the sports industry spans decades and his passion for uplifting the sports community shaped the foundation of REBRAND NY. He dedicated his entire career to supporting athletes, empowering them to succeed both on and off the playing field. His legacy will live on through the lives he touched and the meaningful work he championed.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved wife Amanda and their three beautiful children Roman, Jude, and Chloe during this incredibly difficult time. The sports industry has lost one of its greats, but his impact will endure forever. Rest in peace, Chris. You will be deeply missed and forever remembered.”

Chris Bernard, along with Alen Mamrout, launched Rebrand—a business strategy firm last year.

His vision for Rebrand was: “We are focused on your development off the court and your business strategy. … You need a team of experts that are brand builders and business development experts to focus on that.”

He helped launch the ACE Members Only golf initiative, co-founded by NBA champions Dwyane Wade and Dorell Wright. That’s why Wade was quite sad about the loss. 

Chris Bernard’s death has left his family vulnerable…

Wade will miss the efforts taken by Chris Bernard to launch the ACE Members Only project as the Rebrand’s vision was certainly to help the former players to connect more with the audience.

However, it is Bernard’s family that is the most emotionally vulnerable. A GoFundMe page was set up by NBPA executive Dan Gladstone for Bernard’s family. So far, 773 donations have resulted in $206,269 USD being raised. These contributions will go towards funeral arrangements and also to support Bernard’s family.

Details about memorial services are yet to be announced.

Chris Bernard was a deeply religious man and once even quoted a proverb on Instagram back in 2016. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord- Proverbs 18:22… I prayed. I begged. He answered,” he wrote on Instagram along with throwback pictures of his wedding. While not much is known about Amanda, she is known to be religious, too.

She runs a blog on Instagram called ‘Her Dichotomy’, where she quotes the bible and talks about becoming a better person.