Former Georgia women’s basketball player and two-time WNBA Champion Kara Braxton has died at age 43, the WNBA announced Sunday night, Feb. 22.
The Cobb County Police Department said in a release that Kara Brown Braxton Jackson died in a single-car crash on I-285 as she approached Cobb Parkway on Feb. 21 just after 5 p.m. Braxton “failed to maintain her lane,” colliding with a concrete median on the left shoulder, the release said.
Advertisement
Braxton was born and raised in Jackson, Mich., where she played basketball through her freshman year of high school before she moved to finish her career with Westview in Beaverton, Oregon.
The 6-foot-6 center forward was recruited to Georgia and played with the Bulldogs from 2001-2004. She was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2002.
She averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.8 blocks.
After leaving the Georgia program, she was drafted No. 7 overall by the Detroit Shock, named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team her first season and won a league title in her second season.
Braxton was a two-time WNBA Champion and Sixth Player of the Year, as well as a WNBA All-Star. She played in the league for 10 years, suiting up for the Detroit and Tulsa Shock for six seasons, Phoenix Mercury for two seasons and New York Liberty for four seasons.
Advertisement
She averaged 7.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists.
Her career ended when she was waived from the New York Liberty in 2014 and she spent the remainder of her time working for Nike before moving to Atlanta.
Braxton returned to the University of Georgia in 2023 to finish her degree, eventually graduating in May of 2024.
She is survived by her husband, Jarvis Jackson, and her two sons, Jelani Thurman and Jream Jackson. Thurman was on the 2024 Ohio State national championship football team as a tight end and recently transferred to join Bill Belichick at North Carolina.
This story was updated to add new quotes and information.
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Former UGA women’s basketball player, WNBA champ Kara Braxton dies at 43
