Streetball Legend Taurian Fontenette Dead At 43

Taurian Fontenette -- the AND1 streetball legend known as "Air Up There" and "Mr.720" -- has died ... and the hoops world is mourning one of the most electric dunkers the game has ever seen.

He was 43.

Fontenette's sister, Tracie Sonnier, confirmed the news in a Facebook post, saying Taurian passed Monday night.

A cause of death hasn't been announced.

Tracie said her "heart is broken in a million pieces" after losing her baby brother ... and asked for grace while the family processed what happened.

She called him a basketball genius, the life of every party and someone who'd go the extra mile for anyone who needed him.

Fontenette's story is wild. The 6-foot-2 guard from Hitchcock, Texas -- about 40 miles southeast of Houston -- started for the Hitchcock Bulldogs, then bounced around college ball, including stops at Richland Junior College and Paul Quinn College.

Taurian was working security at a Hitchcock chemical plant when he asked his boss for a day off to try out for AND1 ... and he dunked his way onto the Mixtape Tour roster in 2005.

A year later, he made history in his own backyard -- spinning two full rotations in midair for a 720° dunk during an AND1 game at Houston's Toyota Center, the first documented time it's been pulled off in a game.

The play made SportsCenter's Top 10 ... and the "Mr.720" name stuck.

Team Flight Brothers founder Chuck Milan, who worked with Fontenette, called him "arguably the greatest dunker to ever live" and one of the godfathers of the pro dunk movement.

His signature move, the "Axle-Rider" -- a 360 between-the-legs jam -- later showed up in NBA highlights from guys like Jason Richardson, Paul George, and Dennis Smith Jr.

Fontenette stayed with AND1 through 2006, went on to the Ball4Real Tour, and played pro for the ABA's Dallas Generals in 2009.

Fontenette is survived by his children, including a son who's a standout senior wide receiver and a sprinter at his dad's alma mater, Hitchcock High.