Kara Braxton (kara braxton), 2-time WNBA champion with Detroit Shock, dies at 43
Former WNBA forward kara braxton, a two-time champion with the Detroit Shock, has died at 43, league officials and her former teams said Sunday. The WNBA issued a statement mourning her passing, and immediate details about the cause of death have not been released.
Kara Braxton's Detroit Shock championships and early draft pedigree
Braxton entered the league as the No. 7 overall pick of the Detroit Shock in the 2005 draft and spent her first five full seasons with that organization. The Shock, led by coach Bill Laimbeer and standouts Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith, captured WNBA titles in 2006 and 2008. Braxton was part of those title teams and helped anchor Detroit during that stretch.
WNBA career arc, honors and season highs
A 10-season domestic pro veteran, Braxton played with the Detroit Shock, Tulsa Shock, Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty. She earned her only All-Star nod during the 2007 campaign, averaging 6. 7 points and 5. 4 rebounds that season as the Shock reached the Finals before falling to the Phoenix Mercury. She finished fourth in Sixth Player of the Year balloting in both 2008 and 2009.
Trades, Phoenix peak and overseas achievements
Braxton spent her 2010 season in Tulsa after the Shock relocated; that franchise later became the Dallas Wings. She was dealt to Phoenix in 2010 after the Shock moved to Tulsa and was moved a year later to the New York Liberty, where she spent her final four seasons before leaving after the 2014 season. Her 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 her WNBA years, kara braxton played overseas in Turkey, China, Israel and Korea. She also won a pair of Polish league championships and was the Chinese league MVP in 2010.
Career totals, college roots and a note on phrasing in earlier accounts
Across her professional career, Braxton averaged 7. 6 points and 4. 7 rebounds in 297 games. Context accounts note that she spent a decade in the NBA after a dominant run at Georgia, where she was the SEC's Rookie of the Year. She played at Georgia from 2002-04.
Family, education and life after basketball
Braxton returned to Georgia to finish her degree and graduated in 2024. She retired from basketball in 2019 and worked for Nike for several years after retiring, then relocated to the Atlanta area. She is survived by her husband, Jarvis Jackson, and their young son, Jream.
Her oldest son, Jelani Thurman, is a tight end who spent the past three seasons at Ohio State, won a national title with the Buckeyes in 2024 and has since transferred to the University of North Carolina. Jelani, who is now a University of North Carolina tight end, posted a set of photos of himself and his mother — from when he was a toddler, a teenager and a college football player — and wrote in an Instagram story, "Imma miss my queen!"
Reactions, statement and unresolved questions
The WNBA said Sunday: "It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of 2x WNBA Champion Kara Braxton. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and former teammates at this time. " Further specifics of her death are not yet known and the cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Georgia mourned the loss of the former Lady Bulldog, noting that Braxton played for the program from 2002-04. Storey Wertheimer is a news associate.
