WATCH: Nets' Tribute To Superfan Jeffrey Gamblero
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Brooklyn Nets said goodbye on Tuesday night to one of their biggest fans.
The Nets paid tribute to Jeffrey Vanchiro -- better known as Jeffrey Gamblero, the dancing fan who always wore neon under his No. 44 jersey -- prior to their loss to the Miami Heat at Barclays Center.
Vanchiro died Sunday after he reportedly jumped from a second-floor window in Queens. He was 38.
Players wore shirts with "Gamblero" and "44" in neon during warmups, and star guard Deron Williams sported neon sneakers. The team also asked fans to wear neon to the game.
The Nets held a moment of silence and a 36-second video was shown on the scoreboard before tipoff.
"On behalf of ownership and the entire organization, I am terribly saddened to learn about Jeffrey's death," Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said in a statement on Sunday. "A proud Brooklynite, Jeffrey was a passionate Nets fan and one of our most visible and loyal supporters. I was delighted that he joined the team on our trip to London last season and always enjoyed his enthusiasm while dancing and cheering during Nets games at Barclays Center. The entire organization expresses our deepest condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed."
Vanchiro made headlines earlier this month when he was carried out of a Nets-Knicks game at Madison Square Garden without his prosthetic leg.
His fiancee, Kristi Evans, told ESPN that he "was a completely different person" after the incident at MSG.
"He was a tremendous fan," Williams said Monday, according to the New York Post. "He's just a guy that you knew was gonna be there pretty much every game. You knew the energy he was going to bring. You knew you were gonna see that neon T-shirt and glasses. And so it's definitely a tragedy when you hear about him passing."
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