Kara Braxton, a former WNBA player and two-time champion with the Detroit Shock, has died, officials said Sunday.
She was 43.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of 2x WNBA Champion Kara Braxton,” the WNBA said in a statement Sunday. “Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and former teammates at this time.”
Braxton’s son, University of North Carolina tight end Jelani Thurman, posted a photo of himself and his mother from when he was a toddler, a teenager and a college football player.
“Imma miss my queen!” he wrote in an Instagram story.
Braxon played with the Detroit Shock, Tulsa Shock, Phoenix Mercury, and New York Liberty during her 10-season domestic pro career.
She entered the WNBA as the No. 7 overall pick of the Detroit Shock in the 2005 draft.
The Shock, led by coach Bill Laimbeer and standouts Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith, won the WNBA titles in 2006 and 2008.
Braxton finished fourth in Sixth Player of the Year balloting in 2008 and 2009.
She spent her 2010 season in Tulsa, where the franchise relocated and later became the Dallas Wings.
Braxton’s most productive individual seasons came in Phoenix when she averaged 10.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2010 and 2011 for the Mercury.
After the WNBA, Braxton went on to play overseas in Turkey, China, Israel and Korea.