Former NBA star and R&B singer die in car crash
Basketball
By
Mirror
| Feb 01, 2018
A former NBA player and his wife have died in a car accident.
Rasual Butler, 38, played 14 seasons in the NBA with eight franchises after starting at Miami Heat in 2002.
Butler reportedly lost control of his Range Rover at approximately 2:30 a.m. in Studio City in California, 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 but attended a training camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2016.
He has been called a 'consummate NBA pro' averaging 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 809 NBA games.
He played in Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league last summer.
He played in all 82 games for the 2009-10 Los Angeles Clippers and averaged a career-best 11.9
points per game.
Leah LaBelle was an R&B singer who was signed to Epic Records and finished in 12th on the third season of "American Idol" in 2004.
"Everyone is devastated. It's such a sad day for her friends, family and all her fans that loved her," a source told E! News.
"She was so talented and was pushing hard on her music career."
Butler had one daughter from a previous relationship.
Officer J. Mayorga of the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division said the car struck several objects before hitting the wall of a Marshalls store.