Note: This post is a mixture of opinions and facts, I'll leave it up to you to find the difference.
Fast Facts:
- Latrell was drafted 24th overall in the 1992 draft by Golden State.
- Latrell made his first All-Star game in just his 3rd year in the league.
- Latrell averaged 18.8 ppg for his career with a high-water mark of 24.2 ppg in 1996-97.
- Latrell still holds the record for most 3 ptrs in a game without a miss (9)
- Latrell rarely ever dunked with one-hand. Almost any Spree dunk you can find is a two-handed throwdown.
- Latrell went to Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, MO.
- Poplar Bluff only has one river that runs through it.
The Teams
- Golden State (traded away for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings)
- New York (traded away for Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson and Terrell Brandon)
- Minnesota (not re-signed)
The Story
Just saying that Spree moved along from Golden State, New York and Minnesota really doesn't do the man any justice. Spree had a real knack for wearing out his welcome on the teams he played for, and each time his exit begins with a one of a kind story.
In Golden State, Spree infamously tried to choke his coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice. The alleged story is that Carlesimo told Sprewell to put "a little more mustard" on his passes, Sprewell was not in the mood for criticism, told his coach he would kill him and then dragged him to the ground.
A subsequent suspension cost Spree $6.4 million but it appeared to change him as a man. Sprewell remorsefully told 60 minutes "I wasn't choking P.J. that hard. I mean, he could breathe."
In New York, things went a little better for Spree, he led the team to an NBA finals and appeared to have rewarded the Knicks for taking a chance on him. Then in 2002, Spree proceeded to break his wrist and then lie to the Knicks by telling them he did it by slipping and falling on his yacht. The real story... he was in a fight on his yacht. We'll get to more on the yacht later on though.
In Minnesota, Spree performed well and led the team to a Western Conference Final. He averaged nearly 20 ppg and was understandably upset when the team offered him only $7 million a year for his services after the season. What wasn't understandable however was Spree's claim that he turned down the deal because, "He has kids to feed." Certainly a guy could feed his kids on $7 mil per season.
Which leads us to Latrell's life after basketball. Latrell had chances to sign with several teams after he was spurned by the T-Wolves but never accepted a contract. His agent told Sports Illustrated that Spree had turned down all of his offers because "Latrell doesn't need the money that badly." Not only does that directly contradict Spree saying that "He has kids to feed," but it's also a downright lie.
You see, Spree really, really needed the money. In August 2006, Spree was having a grand old time on the lakes of Wisconsin, riding around on his 70-foot yacht named "Milwaukee's Best." Yes, the same yacht that he was fighting on when he got in trouble with the Knicks.
So, as the story goes Spree reportedly tried to combine two of his favorite activities (yacht fighting and choking) when he choked a woman he was reportedly getting it on with on his yacht. No charges were filed against Spree in the incident but it was apparently enough to put a strain on his relationship with his "life companion" who later sued Latrell for a reported $200 million.
But the curse on "Milwaukee's Best" didn't end there. Latrell also once accidentally grounded the yacht in shallow waters. It eventually took several boats to help get the gigantic yacht back into the water after Spree refused to call to get the boat professionally salvaged.
The yacht was obviously only causing problems for Sprewell at this point. So he did what any honest man would do in the situation. He stopped making payments on it and had it repo'd.
Spree's boat was auctioned off to the highest bidder and soon afterwards his Milwaukee home was foreclosed and sold to the highest bidder as well. You see people, Latrell not only had kids to feed, he also had a lavish lifestyle to live and $7 million a year just wasn't going to make that work.
Let's by honest though, Latrell going bankrupt doesn't make him all that different from other professional basketball players. He's not the first and won't be the last to do it. NBA players typically live well beyond their means and do so while supporting just about everyone else around them. But Spree's bankruptcy story isn't just about "boats and hoes." It's a story of failed investment ideas as well.
You may remember that Latrell became famous for more than just his time on the basketball court during his prime. Latrell was also a businessman, and his business venture centered on selling "Spinners."
Times were good for Spree's Spinning Rims. They were shouted out in rap songs, appeared on numerous MTV Cribs episodes, and put Spree on the cover of magazines. But in the end "Spinners" passed out of consciousness faster than any of Spree's choking victims and this failed investment has to have led to Spree's current financial problems.
Latrell Sprewell: An all-Star, a businessman, a father and above all a choke artist.
Please tell me he's not gambling now... Wait?! Is that KG and Sam Cassell next to him?
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