Some NBA Players with Serious Gambling Problems

A look into some players who’ve gambled like the boss, but paid the cost.

It is well known in US gambling news that many NBA players make mistakes when it comes to managing their money. One reason for this is because there are only 13 states in the U.S that offer “financial literacy” courses in their curriculum.

• Walker was arrested for writing 10 bad checks to casinos for owed money
• In 2015, Javaris Crittenton was sentenced for 23 years for manslaughter.
• Charles Barkey said he lost USD 2.5 million in 6 hours playing blackjack

A high school may offer a course, as an elective, but it doesn’t mean that students, who are looking at professional careers in basketball, will enroll in the course.

Traditionally, NBA players didn’t make much money during their first year of playing basketball. This practice is an insurance policy to organizations to see if players can develop and play at the professional level. The second year, which often involves multiple years, can exceed USD 10 million. With 60 percent of NBA players filing for bankruptcy after retirement, it’s easy for players to go down the wrong path.

Walker and Iverson support Vegas while Arenas and Crittenton draw guns.

Antoine Walker, was the sixth draft pick coming out of University of Kentucky. Walker played from 1996 to 2008 for five NBA teams including the Boston Celtics and the Championship winning Miami Heat. This dangerous 3-point shooter made USD 110 million but lost it to Las Vegas where he was arrested for writing 10 bad checks to casinos. Lavish spending and financially supporting family and friends didn’t help.

Allen Iverson was the man coming out of Georgetown University. Even before college, there were some who speculated Iverson could go straight to the NBA. Iverson was a scoring machine for Philadelphia and someone who Lebron James idolized while growing up. The USD 200-million-man may not have 200 cents. Losing big bucks in Atlantic City and Detroit is a recipe for disaster even if it’s within US gambling laws.

Javaris Crittenton went to high school with Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets. Crittenton, coming from Georgia Tech University, played for four NBA teams, one Chinese team and a NBA minor league team. While he was playing for the Washington Wizards he was involved in an altercation with Gilbert Arenas and drew a handgun on him because of a gambling debt. In 2015, Crittenton was sentenced for 23 years for manslaughter.

Oakley and Hill feud over dice and Barkley and Jordan owe the largest debts

Tyron Hill, playing four years for Xavier University, was an 11th draft pick selected by the Golden State Warriors in 1990. Picked up by four other teams, Hill was called the “lunch pail and hard hat” player for his strong defensive game. Before his retirement, while on the Philadelphia 76er’s, Hill got into a dispute with Charles Oakley over a money owed to him from a dice game. Hill supposedly owed USD 54,000

Charles Oakley was a tough power forward for the NBA who played for a small college called Virginia Union. Playing for five teams, Oakley is considered one of the top rebounders in the NBA. While playing for Toronto, he spoke openly about the USD 54,000 Tyrone Hill owed him for a dice game. Being openly aggressive, Oakley threw a ball at Hill’s head and was fined USD 10,000. Also Oakley slapped Hill before a game and neither was permitted to play. It probably would’ve been safer using online sportsbooks in the US..

Charles Barkley is a NBA legend and Hall-of-Famer. Considered a driving force at the power forward position, Barkley was an 11-time NBA All-Star. Barkley was considered a controversial figure throughout his career. He is currently an immensely popular analyst on TNT. Barkley is also a well-known gambler who claimed to had lost USD 10 million. His record was losing USD 2.5 million during six hours of playing blackjack.

Michael Jordan might be the greatest of all time, but he’s also the patron saint of NBA players who gamble. His “Airness” once made a bet that his bags would come on the conveyor belt before his teammates at the airport and won. Two friends claimed Jordan paid USD 165,000 in losses at a card table while another friend claimed he was paid USD 1.25 million by Jordan in golf losses. A rumor was that Jordan’s 18-month retirement was actually an NBA punishment for gambling.