Father of Los Angeles Lakers player shot to death in Philadelphia

(Reuters) - The father of a player for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers was shot to death in Philadelphia over the weekend, the team said in a statement on Tuesday. Lakers guard Wayne Ellington, who joined the team this year, said in a statement he and his family were "devastated by the news of my father's murder." The Philadelphia Daily News reported that the father, 57-year-old Wayne Ellington, was found in a car on Sunday with a gunshot wound to the head and died later at a local hospital. Philadelphia police could not be immediately reached for details of the shooting. Ellington was given an indefinite leave of absence from the team in light of the killing and it was unclear when he would return, the team said. The Lakers lost on Tuesday to the Memphis Grizzlies by a score of 102-107, bringing their record to 1-6. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)