NBA players who made $ 90 million and above ended up broke

Whether it be through poor financial decisions, gambling problems or even being the victim of an investment scam, the reasons for post-NBA destitution vary but are all equally painful.

NBA players who made $ 90 million and above ended up broke
Allen Iverson

Many believe that once you've made a career for yourself in the NBA, you are financially secure for life, but that isn't always the case, as several league alumni have ended up bankrupt.

Whether it be through poor financial decisions, gambling problems or even being the victim of an investment scam, the reasons for post-NBA destitution vary, but are all equally painful.

It can happen to anyone with a history in the league... be they the sixth man or even an NBA legend. It doesn't matter how much they earned from playing in the league, financial insecurity can hit anyone.

However, just who are the five richest NBA players who ended up broke?

Shawn Kemp (90m dollars in career earnings)

Shawn Kemp's tale is a cautionary one, with his loss of wealth largely related to poor personal decisions.

After an NBA career which was incredibly lucrative, netting him a grand total of 90m dollars, Kemp has found himself with just 5m dollars in assets to his name in 2022.

Having fathered at least six children, Kemp is legally obliged to provide financial support to six separate families.

Furthermore, he had to pay a lot of money in legal fees after being charged with illegal possession of drugs.

Vin Baker (100m dollars in career earnings)

Vin Baker's NBA fortune was squandered due to a string of post-retirement mistakes which left him with virtually nothing.

Substance abuse impacted Baker's later life and he also made some unwise financial investments which ended up losing an awful lot of money.

Financial estimates had Baker losing over 100m dollars before the bank purchased his house.

Things got so bad for Baker that, by 2014, he was working as a barista at a Starbucks just to make ends meet.

Baker used this as a stepping stone to get his life back on track and is now working within the NBA as an analyst.

He also started the Vin Baker Foundation which hosts an annual 5k run with profits being donated to anti-addiction causes.

 Latrell Sprewell (100m dollars in career earnings)

Modern athletes are now routinely offered assistance in terms of financial management, be that in terms of advice or guides or an accountant.

Latrell Sprewell is a sad example of an NBA player who wasn't given any of that and made all of his fiscal decisions himself.

Despite having a brilliant 13-year career in professional basketball, he ended up losing his entire fortune.

He rejected a 21m dollar contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves, but by 2005 he was forced to sell his assets.

He hadn't paid taxes correctly and had to pay the state of Wisconsin an obscene amount in back taxes, thought to be upwards of 3.5m dollars.

Sprewell was then sued by his ex-wife to the tune of 200m dollars. He had his yacht repossessed and his home went into foreclosure status.

Despite wasting all of his NBA money, Sprewell is now living comfortably in 2022.

Antoine Walker (108m dollars in career earnings)

Antoine Walker was an NBA champion who was one of the stars of the sport.

As impressive as he was on the court, he was excessive away from it, purchasing a wide collection of sports cars, homes and jewellery.

Walker was also addicted to gambling, and was forced to pay almost 1m dollars to several casinos to settle his debts.

Walker's story is particularly sad as his money didn't even go to any children or a college fund, it was entirely frittered away on pointless purchases.



 Allen Iverson (200m dollars in career earnings)

Allen Iverson was one of the NBA's biggest stars ever. He was a leading light as the league transitioned from the Michael Jordan era, and he was incredibly popular.

Unfortunately, AI was again the victim of his own lavish tastes. He spent huge sums of money on cars as well as giving money to people in his inner-circle.

In 2010, Iverson officially declared bankruptcy after not being able to pay off his debt to a jeweller.

What is most curious about Iverson's case is the fact that his incredibly infectious personality and on-court brilliance has allowed him to have a lifelong safety net.

In perhaps the only example of guaranteed lifelong wealth, Iverson has a lifetime endorsement deal with Reebok and, any time he has had post-retirement money troubles, he has been able to call upon the sportswear company to offer him a way out of a hole.