NBA Players that have gone broke.
In 2008, the NBA Players’ Association stated that 60 percent of pro basketball players go broke within five years of retirement. That’s no surprise considering their extravagant spending. Below, we present a list of some of the more famous NBA players who have gone broke.
Latrell Sprewell
Former NBA player Latrell Sprewell first gained notoriety during his years with the Golden State Warriors. During a practice in 1997, Sprewell actually choked his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, and was subsequently suspended for 68 games. Sprewell still went on to a successful and lucrative career, and earned almost $100 million.
Sprewell’s career came to an abrupt end when he turned down a 3 year contract extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves worth $30 million. According to Sprewell, this was not enough money. Sprewell reportedly said, “I have a family to feed … [team owner Glen Taylor] better cough up some money. Otherwise, you’re going to see these kids in one of those Sally Struthers commercials soon.” Sprewell was referring to ChildFund International commercials, which provides money to poor children around the world.
Kenny Anderson
Kenny Anderson earned approximately $60 million during his NBA career after playing for nine different teams. He was married three times. Divorcing his first wife, Tami Akbar, was extremely expensive for him. After the divorce proceedings, Tami Akbar took home half of Anderson’s assets and $8,500 a month in child support. In celebration of her huge divorce settlement, she had a custom license plate made that read “HISCASH.”
Derrick Coleman
The New Jersey Nets picked Derrick Coleman in the 1990 NBA draft, and at the time it seemed like a great decision. Coleman was being compared to Charles Barkley, and the Nets were hopeful that Coleman could deliver on the court. But, that never happened. Coleman was frequently injured, abused alcohol, and had problems with his weight.
Despite his problems, Coleman was still able to earn over $87 million in his 15-year career, and it came as a big surprise when he filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March of 2010. In the bankruptcy documents, Coleman listed $1 million in assets, including a Bentley, five fur coats and $3,000 worth of jewelry. His debts totaled more than $4 million. Coleman owed that $4 million to almost 100 creditors, including American Express, Verizon and even the current mayor of Detroit – Dave Bing!
Scottie Pippen
Considered Michael Jordan’s indispensable right hand man, Scottie Pippen is fondly remembered for his years spent playing with the Chicago Bulls. In 2010, Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and he also won six NBA Championships with the Bulls. Pippen is also the only person to win both an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, and he is one of only four players from the Chicago Bulls to have his jersey retired.
Pippen earned about $120 million during his lustrous career, but ended up losing most of that amount. Pippen also lost over $4 million for a corporate jet that was grounded just a few months after he purchased it because it required $1 million in repairs. Pippen sued his lawyer and won $2 million for the missed inspection – although Pippen sought out $8 million, the jury decided that Pippen was also largely responsible for the poor purchase.
Antoine Walker
Antoine Walker is currently playing in the NBA’s development league (the minor league of the NBA), where he plays for the Idaho Stampede. In a career lasting 15 years with five different NBA teams, he’s collected one NBA championship and reportedly earned $110 million.
But, on May 18, 2010, he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Florida (Miami) with total assets of $4.3 million and liabilities of $12.7 million. The filing listed four pieces of real estate including a $2.3 million Miami home that is underwater with a mortgage of $3.6 million, and three other properties in Chicago, one listed for $1.4 million.
Walker’s financial problems mostly come from gambling. In 2009, he was arrested and charged with writing $800,000 worth of bad checks to three Las Vegas casinos.