Who was Tristan Thompson's mother Andrea Thompson and how did she die? A closer look at former NBA champ's late mother's life

Unfortunate news surfaced out of Toronto this Friday when it was revealed that Tristan Thompson's mother passed away. According to TMZ, Thompson's mother suffered a heart attack while in her home on Thursday. Although she was rushed to a hospital in the area, efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.

Although Thompson has yet to publicly release a statement on the matter, according to a report from TMZ he quickly left Los Angeles to head to Toronto. So far, no further details about the matter have been released.

While not much is known about his mom, it was reported that she used to work as a school bus driver. Several years ago, Thompson opened up about his relationship with his mom in an interview, revealing that although he's an adult, the pair talk daily.

“Even though I don’t live at home and I’m four hours away from home, I talk to my mom every day – ask how the kids are doing, ask how she’s doing, too. Everyone knows that my mom, she’s very dedicated in taking care of her sons – especially Amari. But at the same time, you need to make sure that she’s ok."

As Thompson referenced, his mom went above and beyond caring for his younger brother Amari, who has epilepsy. Thompson has continued to work to raise money for epilepsy research, citing his brother as one of his biggest motivators. As he referenced at the time, his mother had to sacrifice quite a bit to be Amari's round-the-clock attendant.

Tristan Thompson's mother and her love for her kids

Tristan Thompson's mother continued to watch him from afar, cheering her son on while remaining at home. As he explained in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago last year while playing for the Chicago Bulls, his mom's life was quite different from most NBA moms.

“Most parents who have kids in the NBA, their parents are able to go to Vegas or Atlantic City and go to islands. For her, it’s not always the same. I use that as my driving force to try to make both their lives easier.”

As Tristan Thompson revealed, there was a point in time when his mother couldn't leave the house for 10 minutes to get groceries without worrying about his brother. Fortunately, the family was able to get Amari's seizures under control.