Richard Jefferson Sr., the father of longtime NBA veteran Richard Jefferson, was killed in a drive-by shooting in California on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Jefferson Sr., 65, was shot Wednesday evening in Compton and pronounced dead at an area hospital later that night.
Investigators do not know the motive at this time, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department told ESPN in a statement Thursday, and homicide bureau detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Richard Jefferson played 17 seasons in the NBA, winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 as a key role player off the bench. The 37-year-old forward is currently a free agent after averaging 8.2 minutes per game in 20 appearances with the Denver Nuggets last season and has started to pursue a post-playing career in broadcast journalism, appearing on ESPN and other networks.
Jefferson's parents split when he was young, and the basketball star grew up in Glendale, Arizona, with his mother. His father lived in California.
Jefferson and his father grew closer in recent years, sources told ESPN, with Jefferson, his wife and two children spending their summers in Los Angeles' South Bay, not far from Jefferson Sr.'s home in Inglewood.
