Rasual Butler: Accident, Wife, NBA, Net Worth & Death

Rasual Butler was an American professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 14 years.

He was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2002 in round 2 and was a 53rd overall pick.

One of the significant highlights of his career was winning the NBA D-League Impact Player of the Year in 2013.

Let’s learn in detail about the life of the late NBA athlete Rasual Butler. 

Quick Facts

Early Life, Family & Education

Late NBA player Rasual Butler was born on May 23, 1979, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Felix Cheesebrorough and Cheryl Taylor.

Rasual grew up with his sister, whose name is unknown, but she is on Instagram with a user name (@215mssexify). He was raised by his grandfather, Bobby Tomer.

Not much information regarding his parents is available. His father died when he was eight in an unsolved murder case in 1987.

According to horoscopic charts, Butler’s birth date falls under the sun sign of Gemini.

People with the Gemini sun sign are mostly known for their adaptability and intelligence. Well, those traits were undoubtedly identified in Butler’s life.

As for education, Butler attended Roman Catholic High School in Pennsylvania and was part of the school basketball team.

His school average was four blocks, five assists, 26.7 points, and eight rebounds per game.

College Career

As for college, Butler decided to attend La Salle to remain closer to his grandfather.

Rasual represented the college men’s basketball team called the La Salle Explorers.

He had a successful college career becoming the Explorers’ sixth athlete to record over 2,000 points. Butler held the fourth rank in the La Salle Explorers’ all-time scorers.

He was part of the First Team All-Atlantic 10 for 2001 and 2002 and also became part of the Verizon Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament. 

In 2008, La Salle inducted Butler into the La Salla Hall of Athletes.

Age &  Body Measurements

Rasual Butler was 38 when he met an accident that took his life. He was 2.01 meters tall and weighed 215 pounds.

Butler was fit and healthy when he was a basketball player.

He was a handsome man with black hair and dark brown eyes. Other than this, his other body measurements are not available.

Career & Profession

During the 2002 NBA Draft, Miami Heat selected Rasual Butler as the 53rd pick in the 2nd round.

Butler represented the Heat from 2002 until 2005 and played 182 games.

Later, the Heat traded Butler to the New Orleans Hornets. The trade was the most significant in the NBA’s history, as 13 players were exchanged.

With the Hornets, Rasual appeared in 293 games altogether.

During season 2006-2007, Butler’s career-high record was 134 three-point shots.

Struggling Seasons For Butler

Los Angeles Clippers recruited Butler on August 12th, 2009. He played 123 games with the Clippers, averaging 1.5 3P, 28.0 MPG, 9.6 PPG, 3.5 FG, and 1.5 3P.

On February 28, 2011, he was waived by the Clippers.

The Chicago Bulls signed him on March 3rd, 2011. Butler only played six games with the Bulls, joined a Spanish team called the CB Gran Canaria, and signed a one-year contract with them.

However, Rasual never played any game representing them. 

At the time, Butler struggled with his NBA form, but he did get a chance to join the Toronto Raptors. He officially joined the team on December 10th, 2011.

Rasual played in 34 games while representing the Raptors. The Raptors let go of Butler on March 23rd, 2012, with an average of 1.9 rebounds and 3.2 points.

Career Best Achievement

Butler became part of the Tulsa 66ers on January 18th, 2013. He quickly improved his skills and won the honor of 2013 Impact Player of the Year.

Butler signed a one-year contract with the Pacers on September 27th, 2013.

He played 50 games with the Pacers, averaging 0.3 assists, 0.8 rebounds, and 2.7 points.

Before Joining BIG3

Rasual joined the Washington Wizards on September 29th, 2014. He had a very successful preseason playing for the team.

Even after Bradley Beal fractured his wrist, Butler became part of the last team before the 2014-2015 season started.

He played impressively throughout each game under coach Randy Wittman, and his non-guaranteed contract deal worth $1.4 million became guaranteed after his performance.

During an interview, he stated-

“Obviously you’re excited… you’re pleased with it, you work hard to achieve your goal, first making it to the team and then striving to become one of the parts contributing to the… team. So to be in this place now feels good. The effort that you put in signifies something. When you work hard and get results… it’s a delightful feeling.”

On September 28th, 2015, Rasual signed with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs waived him on March 9th, 2016.

His average while representing the Spurs was 1.2 rebounds, 9.4 minutes, and 2.7 points in 46 games.

Likewise, Butler joined the Timberwolves on September 26th, 2016. However, he only played five preseason games with them.

BIG3 Career

Butler began his BIG3 career in 2017. BIG3 is a basketball league of 3-on-3 that rapper Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz founded.

He joined the BIG3 team, Ball Hogs, and was traded by the Hogs to another BIG3 team, Power, during the season.

Career Stats

Other Media

Apart from basketball, Rasual starred in a music video for the song Here We Go by Trina. Likewise, he was close friends with Lamar Odom, a fellow NBA Player.

Thus, he appeared on the episodes of a reality television show called Khloé & Lamar, a third spinoff of the famous show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 

Net Worth

Rasual played for various renowned NBA teams, and throughout his career, he earned a fair salary.

While part of the Heat, he had a salary ranging between $300k- $1.2 million.

Butler had a salary ranging from $1.3-$3.6 million while representing the Clippers.

His salary ranged from $2-$3.9 million while representing the Raptors.

The former basketball player’s salary with the Spurs was around $1.2-$1.4 million.

Thus, Butler’s estimated earnings from his entire career sum up to $23 million.  

Rasual Butler’s net worth was around $3 million at the time of his death.

Net Worth Of Rasual Butler In Different Currencies

Here is the net worth of Rasual Butler in different currencies, including the cryptocurrency BitCoin. 

Death

Rasual and his long-time girlfriend LaBelle died in a car accident near Studio City on January 31st, 2018.

Reportedly, he lost control of his car and crashed violently into the parking lot of a strip mall.

According to the autopsy reports, Butler’s body contained traces of marijuana, oxycodone, and methamphetamine, with a 0.118 blood alcohol content.

His girlfriend’s body also had traces of amphetamine and methamphetamine, with a 0.144 blood alcohol content.

Butler’s daughter held a joint memorial for LaBelle and Rasual, and the memorial service was streamed online.

Girlfriends

Malika Haqq

Rasual dated Malika Haqq, an American actress and reality TV contestant, from November 2010 until February 2011.

Haqq is renowned for her role in the 2005 movie Sky High. 

In 2023, Malaika celebrated her 40th birthday, and Khloe posted glamourous photos of her.

Leah LaBelle

Rasual and Leah were in a long-term relationship for five years before they passed away.

Leah LaBelle was an American singer born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. However, she was raised in Seattle, Washington.

She was 31 at the time when the accident took her life. LaBelle was renowned for her appearance in the third season of American Idol, in which she stood twelfth in the finals.

In like manner, both of them continuously showed appreciation towards each other on their social media.

Although Leah and Rasual were not married, Butler still considered and called LaBelle his wife.

Daughter

Rasual had a daughter from his previous relationship named Raven Butler-Morris.

Not much information is available as Butler kept most of his personal life out of the public eye.

At the time of his death, his daughter was a teenager.

Sweet Message To His Daughter Before Accident

Three days before Rasual’s death, he posted a lovely post about his daughter on social media.

He shared a photo of his daughter and captioned how proud he was to be her father. 

Caption, ” Her Aura, spirit, style, creativity, intellect, passion, and understanding for her age is a beautiful thing to watch as [a] very proud father!” 

Reportedly, before Butler’s death, he accidentally face-timed his daughter around 10:30 pm, and both of them chatted for a few moments.

As his usual self around his daughter, he shared some funny jokes, laughed, and told her that he loved her and would soon see her.

However, it was the last time that both of them talked. In an interview, Raven explained how at around 8 am, there was a knock on the door, and after answering, two police officers gave her the news about her father’s death. She stated-

“I sat there and cried… thought about…. he would do in this circumstance…. don’t remember much after that. I just sat on…. and felt numb.”

Raven explained how watching her dad inspired her to play basketball. However, Rasual never forced her with anything and asked her to go after her passion.

She interns for a music studio in Los Angeles, California, and often DJs.

Moreover, both the father and daughter have matching tattoos on their hands. The tattoo contains both of their initials, ‘RR.’

Rasual also had another tattoo representing himself and his daughter, printed across his rib cage and middle of his chest with a half-bird and half-man picture.

The bird represented his daughter and the man himself. It also had words defining both of their heart’s beats.

Popularity Graph

Rasual Butler is a late basketball player who last played for Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA before transferring to BIG3.

The popularity graph shows the wavelength from the last twelve months.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)