Warriors Star, Who Lost Over $6M by Strangling His Own Coach, Once Had to Retire After Rejecting an Offer Over 100x His Net Worth

The Golden State Warriors have won four NBA titles in the last eight years. They have established themselves as one of the best dynasties in the NBA. However, not everything was smooth in the 1990s. There was a time when a Warriors star strangled a coach which caused huge controversy.

The forgotten superstar in question is Latrell Sprewell. The Warriors drafted him as the 24th overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. However, he exceeded expectations and showed immense potential. In his rookie season, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.

However, in the very next year, he averaged 20 points per game and made the all-star team. He continued his development and made 3 consecutive all-star appearances. And gave the Warriors fans a belief that he could lead them deep into the playoffs. In the 1996-97 season, he averaged his best numbers so far with 24.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.

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But his career went south after a poor decision. During a Warriors practice session in 1997, he attacked coach ?P. J. Carlesimo after the coach had asked him to make sharp passes. He had to be separated from the coach.

The Warriors take action?

As per reports, after Carlesimo asked Latrell Sprewell to make sharp passes, the superstar has told him that he isn’t in the mood for criticism. When the coach approached him, Sprewell threatened the coach and grabbed him by his throat. He then proceeded to strangle the coach for a few seconds before teammates pulled him back.

Shockingly, he didn’t stop there. After taking a shower, Sprewell approached Carlesimo again and landed a blow. And again the assistant coaches had to drag him away. This caused huge controversy in the NBA. Initially, the Warriors suspended him for 10 days. However, they decided to terminate the remainder of his contract. This cost him more than $6 million in salary. Later the NBA gave a one-year suspension for Sprewell.

However, his mistakes didn’t end there. The New York Knicks decided to take a chance with Sprewell and signed him in 1998. He played for the Knicks for 5 years and averaged more than 15 points per game every year. It looked like everything was finally calming down again after the whole strangling fiasco.

But that wasn’t the case. After 5 years with the Knicks, Sprewell joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2003. While he was not his younger self anymore, he still played good minutes for them. In 2004, the Wolves offered him a $21 million contract. However, Sprewell rejected the offer, stating that it was not enough.

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But the Wolves were not prepared to offer more and took the offer off the table. Much to his shock, Sprewell didn’t receive any other offer. And he was forced to retire from the NBA and lost the chance at millions from the Timberwolves as salary. From a player who played 3 straight all-star games with immense potential, Sprewell retired without getting any offers.