Meet Darius Miles; he is an ex-NBA star who played alongside LeBron James and appeared in a Ryan Reynolds movie. The 6ft 9in became one of the most sought-after NBA prospects of all time.
In 2000, he became the highest-ever NBA draft pick to come straight out of high school when he joined the Los Angeles Clippers with the third overall pick, according to TalkSport.
His flying career saw him being named a First Team NBA All-Rookie in 2001, a first for a prep-to-pro player, as per TalkSport. The following year, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and was joined by LeBron James in 2003. He later got traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2004, inking a six-year, $48 million deal.
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However, his career started to face multiple challenges, including suspensions and injuries. He was suspended two games after a verbal clash with coach Maurice Cheeks in 2005. He later got a 10-game ban after reports said he violated the league’s substance abuse policy. As if that was not all, he suffered a right knee injury, which resulted in him missing the entire 2006–07 and 2007–08 NBA seasons.
After recovering from injury, he joined the Boston Celtics in the preseason and the Memphis Grizzlies, but by 2009 his NBA career was over. His NBA career saw him earn roughly $62 million in total salary.
He also made money from an endorsement deal with Nike and got featured in the movie “Van Wilder” with Ryan Reynolds and “The Perfect Score,” the 2004 teen heist movie.
In an unfortunate twist of events, the former NBA player’s worth went down the drain, and at a point, he had to file for bankruptcy. His financial woes were caused by years of depression following his mother’s death from cancer in 2013, he noted in an article for The Player’s Tribune.
In the article, he also revealed that he earned more money at his age than he could handle when he became a professional NBA player. Like many NBA stars, he began to live an extravagant lifestyle. However, what took a toll on him was a string of failed investments and “shady business deals.”
“When you’re young, you think the money is gonna last forever,” Miles wrote. “I don’t care how street smart you are, or who you got in your corner; when you go from not having anything to making millions of dollars at 18 or 19 years old, you’re not going to be prepared for it.”
“They’ll make the money disappear quick,” he said of the bad deals, which largely caused him to file for bankruptcy. He listed a $20,000 child support debt in his bankruptcy, listed $460,385 in assets, and $1.57 million in liabilities. Also, he reported losing more than $100,000 in 2008 in a California real estate deal.
Following his bankruptcy declaration, he was compelled to auction off many of his belongings in order to raise money to pay off his debts. His belongings included items of sports memorabilia, including an autographed LeBron jersey that sold for $1,500.
After filing for bankruptcy, Miles moved to Florida to live near his former teammate, Quentin Richardson, and the two began hosting The Knuckleheads podcast, associated with The Players’ Tribune. The podcast interviews former and current professional basketball players from the perspective of ex-NBA players.
