Joe Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, is opening up about how he blew through the $61 million he made during nearly two decades in the league.
Following a legendary career at Maryland, Smith was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. Smith, who played for 12 different franchises from 1995 to 2011, made $61.2 million over the course of his 16-year career.
During a recent interview with VladTV, Smith shed light on how his NBA earnings dwindled down to just $3,000. Though he earned more than $61 million during his time in the NBA, Smith claims he only took home around $18 million after taxes, agent fees and management fees.
"It was a very low point," Smith said about going broke. "Like, when I say I was in a deep, deep, deep depression, like mentally messed up, I'm telling you I was there."
Smith continued, "I bought my mom's house in Virginia, bought a house in the bay and I bought a house in Milwaukee. Those are three houses that I bought and lost a lot of money to get them off my hands. So, that's when the issue came on the other end too, I didn't make anything off the houses once I had to sell them."
In addition to buying several houses and a fleet of luxury cars, Smith blames his costly divorce with him going broke.
"That's what really cost me," Smith said about the 2011 divorce. "I laugh about it now, but that's what really cost me. The divorce left me with not much at all. That's where a bulk of my retirement money went."
Smith recently made headlines for his reaction to his partner's OnlyFans account, which she claims she had to do for financial reasons to support their family.
Watch Joe Smith's full interview with VladTV up top.
