Money to Blow: A Recent History of NBA Players Going Broke

Image via Complex Original

Estimated Career Earnings: $7,000,000
How He Lost It All: The Detroit Pistons Bad Boy won a championship in 1990, but had to hawk his ring while filing for bankruptcy in 2010. At the time of his filing, Mahorn had less than $2,000 to his name. Despite earning millions in the NBA, signing a lucrative broadcasting deal with the Pistons, and his stint as a coach in the WNBA in 2009, the former NBA forward lost everything. Mahorn's property investments crashed along with Detroit's economy, leaving him with over $500,000 in liabilities and less than $300,000 in assets. Now, we're not very good at math but we're pretty sure that's bad. Mahorn also owed a local library some $55 in late fees. Rick, we know you and Bill Laimbeer had every intention of ripping through the Hunger Games trilogy, but bring your books back homie.

Estimated Career Earnings: $30,000,000
How He Lost It All: When is $30M not enough money? When you father ten children by eight women. The Bulls forward was arrested in 2007 for failure to make child support payments despite making tens of millions of dollars in his eight-year NBA career. Go hard in the paint, keep it raw in the bed, leave the game penniless; the plight of an NBA benchwarmer.

Estimated Career Earnings: $50,000,000
How She Lost It All: Who says the WNBA players don't make serious dough? Sheryl Swoopes made almost $50M dollars as the league's poster child only to lose it all with horrible representation and bad investments. The first woman to get her own Nike shoe blamed herself for the epic mismanagement of cash and sold her Olympic medals and Naismith trophy to satisfy the milli she owed creditors (including $250,000 to the IRS).

Estimated Career Earnings: $50,000,000
How He Lost It All: Is it too late for Dennis Rodman to make a comeback? The Worm is broke and, according to his attorney, can't pay the nearly $1 million he owes in back child support. We can only guess how Rodman blew his cash, but we're willing to bet it's lost in empty bottles of Wild Turkey and gold plated naval piercings. He's reportedly made $8,000 in the past year, and at that pace, will need over a century to pay what he allegedly owes in alimony.

Estimated Career Earnings: $60,000,000
How He Lost It All: If you ain't no punk, holler we want prenup—we want prenup! *Yeezy voice* The quickest and easiest way to lose money when you're an athlete is to father children and get divorced, Kenny Anderson did both in a big way. The New York City basketball legend has had three divorces, eight kids, and pays child support to five different women. And he didn't exactly endear himself to anyone when he said of his children, ”They can burn a hole in your pocket real quick... you've got your schooling, day care, nanny. It just goes on and on." We feel you, Kenny. It's hard out here for a pimp.

Estimated Career Earnings: $70,000,000
How He Lost It All: When you spend the majority of your career on IR, you have a lot of free time to waste green. Curry once made a five-month personal loan at an 85% interest rate. Another ill-fated business decision that led the former 4th overall pick to financial ruin was his renting (yes, we said renting) of a $17,000 a month home while playing in New York. The hefty center also kept a house chef for $72,000 a year. But his "yes-you're-out-of-control" moment came in 2010 when his wages were being garnished despite collecting a $10 million annual salary.

Estimated Career Earnings: $91,000,000
How He Lost It All: When you make close to $100 million in your career go ahead and buy some jewelry, fur coats, and Bentley GT's—you deserve it. But, for the love of Isiah, don't take it upon yourself to stimulate Detroit's struggling economy. Coleman, who ended his career with the Pistons, lost a fortune attempting to create jobs and revitalize business opportunities in Motown during 2009 and 2010. Before labeling the Michigan native a martyr, it's important to note that Coleman's assets included two chinchilla coats (because it's cold in Detroit), 40 Rolex watches (bosses got to be on time), and a 1970 Chevy Nova (uh, what?).

Estimated Career Earnings: $92,000,000
How He Lost It All: Before you complain about the price of condoms, read the story of Shawn Kemp. It could potentially save you $100,000,000. The Sonics forward fathered (at least) seven children by six women and lost most of his career earnings to child support. His post-NBA life has included a failed comeback attempt, multiple drug possession arrests, and the ultimate athlete rock bottom, playing against a stocky sales rep on Pros vs. Joes. Now that $12 box of Trojan Fire and Ice jimmys doesn't seem like such a burden, does it?

Estimated Career Earnings: $100,000,000
How He Lost It All: When Reebok retros the Pumps, does Vin Baker get any of that cash? We hope so, he needs it. The four time All-Star went from the poor man's David Robinson to—well, just plain poor through years of gambling, alcoholism, and bad investments. Baker lost his restaurant (the cleverly named Vinnie's Saybrook Fish House) and his 10,000 square-foot Connecticut home in 2008 to foreclosure.

Estimated Career Earnings: $100,000,000
How He Lost It All: Latrell Sprewell once famously turned down a 3-year, $21 million dollar contract offer by saying, "I have to feed my family." But because he was unwilling to negotiate at the farmers market or wait in line at Costco, the $100 million he made over his career wasn't enough to keep food on the table. Sprewell blew everything on a lavish lifestyle, yachts, and recently had his second million dollar home foreclosed upon. How does a guy who once made $21 million in a season have mortgage payments? The NBA, where amazing happens.

Estimated Career Earnings: $110,000,000
How He Lost It All: What's crazier—that Antoine Walker somehow made over $100 million in his NBA career or that he managed to blow it all within three years of his retirement? The man-boobed former Celtic lost his cash, like many on this list, by supporting an enormous entourage. According to his mother (who lives in a mansion outside of Chicago with 10 bedrooms and a full-sized basketball court), Walker supported as many as 70 people during his playing days and turned his garage into a parking lot of luxury cars. From bad to sad, Walker was arrested in 2009 for passing bad checks to a Vegas casino totaling a million dollars. He most recently got waived by the D-League's Idaho Stampede. We're not even going to make anymore jokes about this dude. His story is just too sad at this point.

Estimated Career Earnings: $120,000,000
How He Lost It All: Scottie Pippen once spent over $4 million on a corporate jet that never took flight. Translation: No. 33 has spent a lot of money on some stupid shit. The Bulls legend lost millions through the cliched athlete formula of bad investments, lavish spending, and surrounding himself with attorneys who looted his fortune like it was Constantinople under siege. Jordan's sidekick isn't hurting as much after signing a deal with the Bulls to serve as a team "ambassador"—which, from what we can tell, means he sits courtside in a suit and smiles.

Estimated Career Earnings: $200,000,000
How He Lost It All: Allen Iverson is as reckless and brave with his checkbook as he was on the basketball court, and now, he's paying the price (literally). The Answer has apparently blown nearly a quarter of a billion dollars on jewelry, jets, and an army of enablers—suddenly that contract offer to play indoor soccer for the Rochester Lancers doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Unfortunately for A.I., diamond-encrusted Cartier watches don't appreciate like bonds, if they did, the Sixers guard would be Warren Buffett.