(Reuters) Former NBA player Rasual Butler and his wife died in an automobile accident yesterday in California, according to multiple reports.
Butler, 38, played 14 seasons in the NBA with eight franchises as a swingman after being drafted out of LaSalle by the Miami Heat in 2002.
Butler reportedly lost control of his vehicle at approximately 2:30 a.m. in Studio City, hit a parking meter and flipped the car.
Leah LaBelle, 31, was Butler’s wife and an R&B singer who appeared on “American Idol” in 2004.
Butler played his final games with the San Antonio Spurs in the 2015-16 season and attended training camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2016. He played in Ice Cube’s BIG3 basketball league last summer.
He averaged 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 809 NBA games. He played in all 82 games for the 2009-10 Los Angeles Clippers and averaged a career-best 11.9 points per game.
