5 NBA players that went broke after exiting the league

The NBA is the most lucrative basketball league in the world. Players have the opportunity to mint millions of dollars during their professional careers. Unfortunately, the reality is many players find themselves in dire financial situations after retiring from the NBA, some even losing their homes.

Earning millions of dollars does not necessarily equate to lifelong financial freedom. Sure, players might make millions in their careers but legal trouble, lavish lifestyles and bad investments can quickly dry up their savings.

Here are some NBA players who went broke after exiting the league. Each player in this list has a distinct case but they all share one thing; they made a ton of money and then, for various reasons, lost it all.

5 NBA players that lost their homes after exiting the league

All of the players in this list lost their fortune, went bankrupt and ultimately lost their home.

#5. Vin Baker

Vin Baker playing for the Sonics.

Throughout his 14-year pro career, Baker made $89.9 million, including $13.5 million from the Celtics in 2003-04. Vin Baker made the all-star team four straight times. However, he added substantial weight, which put his professional career in jeopardy.

In 2008, CNBC reported Baker was facing foreclosure on his Durham, Connecticut home. It was his second foreclosure that year after his restaurant Saybrook Fish House went under in February.

#4. Christian Laettner

Christian Laettner

Laettner's house was foreclosed by the bank in 2015. This was an odd occurrence as he had made over $60 million playing for the Pistons, Mavericks, Wizards, Hawks and the Timberwolves.

The main reasons attributed to this fall are bad financial decisions and poor investments.

#3. Antoine Walker

Antoine Walker

Walker was on the 2006 Miami Heat team that won the championship. In 2007, he filed for bankruptcy, having nothing to show for the $100 million he had earned as a professional player in the league. Walker's Florida home of $3.1 million went into foreclosure.

Walker even had to play in inferior basketball leagues to earn money after he retired from the NBA. According to him, his ex-wife was to blame for spending all his money.

#2. Latrell Sprewell

Sprewell was a four-time all-star and played for the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks.

He is infamous for turning down a $21 million contract from the Timberwolves. He never received another huge offer from any other team in the league. Sprewell lived a lavish lifestyle including owning a yacht and two luxurious homes.

In 2007, the yacht was repossesed and by 2009, both his mansions went into foreclosure.

#1. Delonte West

Delonte West

He was drafted in the first round and went on to play for the Celtics, Supersonics, Cavaliers and the Mavericks. He did not have a long NBA career.

By the time he was 32 years old, photos surfaced on the internet allegedly showing him begging for money while homeless on the streets.

West claims his NBA career was destroyed by malicious rumors of him having an affair with LeBron James' mother.