To what extent can a prank go? Can it reach a point where it nearly ruins an individual’s life? At least that’s what happened to Lindy Waters III. Before building his way to the NBA, the Colorado native had a tough time getting back to his High School. Wondering what exactly went wrong for the youngster? Just a Picture!

A careless prank at 18 almost shut the doors for Waters. But fortunately, he came out of the dark and restarted his life. “No one else will take you,” were his father’s words after the fateful event. But that is now in the past. There’s always a second chance for those who never give up and Lindy was one of them.

Despite not being drafted in 2020, he worked hard to reach his dream and finally landed on one of the most prestigious teams in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors. After years of pinballing between the OKC and the G-League, the man got the chance to attend the media day with his new Dubs teammates. However, it was worth the wait as Waters detailed what separates the franchise from the rest of the league.

Speaking from his recent observation, Waters stated, “Just performance-wise, training staff, to the chef, to the kitchen, on the court, how they approach your, development and your workouts. Everything is just a little more tailored to, what’s gonna make you the best player and not necessarily, what’s best for the team at that specific point.”

He further added, “They want you to be as happy and as free as you can be because I think that’s when players play their best.” Finally, Waters seems to be in a mental space to enjoy his basketball. Following the terrifying incident that he had to face at an early stage, he deserves the happiness that he is finding in the Bay Area.

What happened to Lindy Waters III that scarred his life?

It all started with a bet over an NBA 2K game, a fairly ordinary occurrence. But what was unusual was how things escalated after Waters reacted to his loss. He placed his bets on the Chicago Bulls who couldn’t win against the Portland Trail Blazers, the team his friend supported.

According to the bet, Lindy shared a picture with four of his friends on Snapchat. It was a faceless picture of him in an AAU jersey with an Airsoft g*n. And Bam!! That’s all it took to turn his life overnight.

Although it was not a real g*n, the police pursued him after receiving reports of a disturbance at the school that day. Waters was expelled from Norman North High School over the phone, shattering his dreams of graduating from there.

No other school would take him, except for Sunrise Christian Academy, and that too only after he explained the entire situation.“It made me grow up extremely fast,” Waters told ESPN, recalling the horrifying incident. “If it had been a real gun, if I had been on campus. I was 18 and could have been charged with something. I came to the realization that I need to be careful, who I’m around, what I’m doing, think about how it’s going to impact my future.”

But all’s well that ends well. His second chance came thanks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was offered a two-way contract and after spending roughly three seasons at the Thunder and their G-League side, OKC Blue, the Warriors acquired him in the summer trade.

On their first preseason game against the Clippers, Waters showed the Warriors that they had taken the right step by adding him. Waters stole the show in the 91-90 victory. It took him 15 minutes on the hardwood to score the game-high 15 points, all threes, and, of course, the buzzer-beater winner. With Steve Kerr still in dilemma over the starting 5, the performance against the Western rivals certainly gives Waters the early boost he needed. But again, it’s all about chance, and by the looks of it, Waters doesn’t let those up.