2-time WNBA champion Kara Braxton dies at 43 after being in a car crash
New York Liberty's Kara Braxton is fouled by Connecticut Sun's Kalana Greene during a WNBA exhibition basketball game, May 7, 2012, in Uncasville, Conn. Credit: AP/Sean D. Elliot
Two-time WNBA champion Kara Braxton died after being in a car crash in Atlanta on Saturday. She was 43.
The athletic department at Georgia, where Braxton played in college, texted The Associated Press confirmation of her death on Monday and posted on social media. Her son, Jelani Thurman, posted a photo of his younger self in his mother's jersey on social media and wrote that he we will miss his “queen.”
Braxton last played in the WNBA in 2014 while finishing up a four-year stint with New York. She won two titles with the Detroit Shock in 2006 and 2008.
She celebrated her birthday last week.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of 2x WNBA Champion Kara Braxton,” the league said on social media on Sunday night. “A 10-season veteran, Kara played with the Detroit Shock, Tulsa Shock, Phoenix Mercury, and New York Liberty. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and former teammates at this time.”
The 6-foot-6 Braxton was drafted by Detroit with the seventh pick in 2005. She earned All-Rookie honors that season after averaging 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds.
She played half of a season with the franchise when it moved to Tulsa in 2010 before getting traded to Phoenix for the second half of the year.
New York Liberty's Kara Braxton walks on the court at the end Game 1 of an opening-round WNBA basketball playoff series against Connecticut in Uncasville, Conn., Sept. 27, 2012. Credit: AP/Jessica Hill
Braxton then played the first 18 games in Phoenix in 2011 before being acquired by New York. She played with the Liberty until 2014 when she was waived after playing four games.
“We mourn the loss of Kara Braxton, a former Liberty player whose presence and passion left a lasting impact on our organization and the women's game,” the Liberty posted on social media.
Braxton was SEC Freshman of the Year for Georgia in 2002.
Thurman played football for Ohio State and won a national championship with the Buckeyes in 2024. He has since transferred to North Carolina.
Kara Braxton, left, holds up a Detroit Shock jersey with WNBA President Donna Orender after the Shock selected her as their first round pick, seventh overall in the WNBA draft, April 16, 2005, in Secaucus, N.J. Credit: AP/BILL KOSTROUN
Braxton is also survived by her husband Jarvis Jackson and their young son Jream.
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