If you were looking for an athlete who made millions and then squandered his entire fortune, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better example than Antoine Walker. Sixth overall pick by the 1996 Boston Celtics, excellent first-year average (17.5 points per game – best on the team, 9.0 rebounds – best on the team and 3.2 assists – fourth on the team). Complementary ratings from fans and experts, participation in the All-Star Games, NBA championship with Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade in the Miami Heat.
By the end of his career, Walker had earned $108 million, only to lose it all a few years later. It would take a long time to list the problems the champion had: Antoine had problems with the law, was deceived by a scammer, sold the house he bought for his mother, sold his championship ring, went into enormous debt, and then went completely bankrupt. Walker recovered from such horror for many years and then firmly decided to do everything possible so that no one else would repeat his mistakes.
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The former player regularly speaks with young people, participates in programs and podcasts, where he conveys to the public the pain and suffering he had to endure. Antoine even wrote a letter to himself in his youth, which will also be useful for current basketball players who have just signed their first professional contracts: “I want to teach you a new word, a word that is not yet in your dictionary. The word “no.” Learn to say no and practice it often.”
In Walker’s case, the advice is actually spot on. Repeated visits to luxury clothing stores with friends, where they were allowed to take absolutely everything at their own expense; going to clubs with friends, where no one could enjoy anything; all-inclusive trips. “I went on a trip with a large group of kids. There were 8 or 10 of us on the road. I paid for their flights, hotel rooms and food.” All this did not make Antoine rich. But even these expenses will seem like flowers compared to the basketball player’s other movements.
You have to understand that Walker grew up poor on the south side of Chicago. He was the eldest of six brothers and sisters. His single mother was barely making ends meet. Gangs and drugs that absorbed many. The opportunity to get out of all this was in basketball. But when the player unexpectedly became rich, he literally went all out. Antoine screened clips of cool rappers demonstrating luxurious living.
Dwyane Wade (left) and Antoine Walker (right), 2006
Photo: Doug Benc/Getty Images
Expensive clothes, luxury cars – the basketball player wanted the same. After all, he is an NBA player who earns a huge salary! “The same designer suit? I will never use it twice,” said the boy who had just become a millionaire. He also loved cars and watches. “He had different fetishes, including cars. He had between 8 and 10 cars at the same time. He had a fetish for watches…he had between 15 and 20 wristwatches, although he couldn’t wear them all.”
This is not to say that Walker exclusively burned his wealth. He also had useful expenses. “I bought my mother a house, I bought an apartment, cars for both of us, furniture, clothes and I sent my children to a private school.”
At some point he decided to increase his capital. But instead he lost his own millions. The player bets on real estate projects. Antoine himself did not understand this matter at all. And there was no time for this. Walker hired an agent and, after consulting with him, invested millions in the new company. When the 2008 crisis began, the projects collapsed, as did the basketball player’s bank account. He never returned to real estate and focused all of his energy on the casino.
Antoine Walker (left) and Paul Pierce (right), 2005
Photo: Elsa/Getty Images
The initial hobby became an addiction. His former teammate Bruno Shundov once witnessed the basketball player’s unhealthy passion, which she later shared with the public: “Several times I was with him in the casino and saw him take 500 thousand dollars in chips. He had $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 in chips. You know, as a rule, we take $1 in chips, and when we lose $100, we stop playing. But he put $500,000 on the table right in front of me. At that time you could buy three or four apartments with that money. It was possible to buy a house.
You can’t spend that kind of money. No vacation or nightlife will cost you that much. But it is possible to spend that amount of money in a casino. That night he lost between 200 and 300 thousand dollars. The next day I won $100 thousand. Pure madness.” At some point, the player began to run out of money. But the passion for the game did not disappear. To continue gambling, Walker began writing fraudulent checks. When the deception was revealed, a huge scandal broke out and several casinos demanded Antoine had to pay back about $800,000 to the casino. Soon Antoine declared bankruptcy.
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Walker sold his championship ring. And the turning point was the sale of his mother’s house, which he himself bought for her. “I built a house for my mother from scratch. 15,000 square feet, indoor pool, everything was amazing. At the time of my bankruptcy, I had four houses. And I asked my mother, “What do you think we should do?” And then, for the first time, I broke down: she told me to sell her house. I could not believe it. I said we can get through this and figure it out. But she simply replied: “No. Everything’s fine. That was the lowest point.”
Fortunately, Walker now remembers all of this as a bad dream. He no longer has 108 million dollars in his account, but he is happy. The former NBA player has found the long-awaited stability. He works in television and gives advice to others. “In life we make mistakes… We meet bad people. However, we continue to live and learn.” After all, he is not the only athlete to lose a multimillion-dollar fortune. But Antoine does everything possible so that in the future there are as few athletes of this type as possible.
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