Latrell Sprewell

Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player; he played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. During his time as a professional, Sprewell was named to the yearly NBA All-Star game four times; he also helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals and the Timberwolves the Western Conference finals. Despite his accomplishments, his career was overshadowed by a 1997 incident in which he choked coach P. J. Carlesimo during a practice, which ultimately resulted in a 68-game suspension.

Sprewell's career came to an unexpected end in 2005 when he refused a $21-million three-year contract offer from the Timberwolves, which he implied would not be enough to feed his children. Since that time, he has made headlines for grounding his million-dollar yacht, having two of his homes foreclosed upon, and being prohibited from seeing his children.^[1]

NBA career

Golden State Warriors

After attending Washington High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sprewell played competitively with the Three Rivers Community College Raiders Basketball Team in Poplar Bluff, Missouri from 1988–1990, and from 1990–1992 with the University of Alabama, where he was a teammate of future NBA players Robert Horry, Jason Caffey and James Robinson.

He was selected 24th overall in the 1992 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. Sprewell, nicknamed "Spree", made an immediate impact, starting 69 of the 77 games he played in during his rookie season and averaging 15.4 points per game. His performance would improve over the next few years, leading the team in scoring and playing for the Western Conference All-Star team in 1994, 1995, and 1997, scoring 24.2 ppg in 1996–97, fifth in the league. Additionally, in 1993–1994 he led the league in games played and minutes per game as the Warriors, led by Sprewell and NBA Rookie of the year power forward Chris Webber, made it back to the playoffs. They would, however, lose in the first round to the Phoenix Suns in three games.

1997 choking incident

Though a four-time All-Star, a significant blemish on Sprewell's career was an incident that took place on December 1, 1997, when he attacked head coach P. J. Carlesimo during a Warriors practice. When Carlesimo yelled at Sprewell to make crisper passes (specifically asking him to "put a little mustard" on a pass^[2]), Sprewell responded that he was not in the mood for criticism and told the coach to keep his distance. When Carlesimo approached, Sprewell threatened to kill him and dragged him backwards by his throat, choking him for 7–10 seconds before his teammates and assistant coaches pulled Sprewell off his coach. Sprewell returned about 20 minutes later after showering and changing and again accosted Carlesimo. He landed a glancing blow at Carlesimo's right cheek before being dragged away again by the assistant coaches. It was not his first violent incident with the Warriors; in 1995, Sprewell fought with teammate Jerome Kersey and returned to practice carrying a two-by-four, and reportedly threatened to return with a gun.^[3] In a 1993 practice, Sprewell fought with Byron Houston, who was 50 pounds heavier than Sprewell and had what many teammates describe as having a Mike Tyson-like demeanor and physique.^[4]

Sprewell was suspended for 10 games without pay. The next day, in the wake of a public uproar, the Warriors voided the remainder of his contract, which included $23.7 million over three years, and the NBA suspended him for one year. Sprewell took the case to arbitration, and, as a result, the contract voiding was overturned and the league suspension was reduced to the remaining 68 games of the season. He sought to vacate the arbitration contract under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. His case went through all appeals, and was remanded. During his suspension, Sprewell was charged with reckless driving for his role in a 90-mile-per-hour accident that injured two people, and spent three months under house arrest as part of a no-contest plea.^[3][5]

New York Knicks

Due to the NBA lockout, Sprewell did not play again until February 1999,^[6] after the Warriors traded him to the New York Knicks for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings. Sprewell played 37 games for the Knicks that season; all but four off the bench.

Many pundits felt that signing the volatile Sprewell was too big a gamble for the Knicks to take, but Sprewell himself vowed that he was a changed man. The Knicks who at the time still revolved around veteran All-Star center Patrick Ewing narrowly qualified for the 1999 playoffs, making the field as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks shocked the NBA as they navigated past the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and finally the Indiana Pacers en route to becoming the first eighth seeded team to make it to the 1999 Finals, where they met the San Antonio Spurs. They eventually lost to the Spurs in 5 games in the NBA Finals, though Sprewell enjoyed a good series for the most part, averaging 26.0 ppg. He tallied 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Knicks' 78-77 Game 5 loss. He was featured on the cover of the September 1999 issue of SLAM Magazine.

Sprewell moved into the Knicks starting line up for the 1999–2000 season at small forward, and averaged 18.6 points, helping the Knicks to a 50-32 record good enough for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks now led by Sprewell, Ewing and shooting guard Allan Houston qualified for the 2000 playoffs, making the field as the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks once again overcame expectations as they navigated past the Toronto Raptors in three hard fought games and Miami Heat in seven tough hard fought games in the first two rounds of the playoffs en rote to making it to the Eastern Conference Finals where they met the Indiana Pacers but the Knicks quest to make it back to back NBA Finals appearances drew to an end when they were defeated by the Pacers in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Finals with Sprewell averaging 19.7 ppg in the series. The Knicks gave him a five-year/$62 million contract extension.^[3]

The 2000–01 season saw Sprewell step up as the Knicks leader with Ewing traded to the Seattle SuperSonics, thus making his only All-Star appearance for the Knicks that year, scoring 7 points off the bench. However, despite another impressive season from Sprewell the Knicks would lose in the first round to the Toronto Raptors in five games of the 2001 playoffs. In 2001–02, Sprewell averaged 19.4 ppg, including 49 points in a game against the Boston Celtics, one of three times he scored 40 or more points that season; however, it was not enough as the Knicks would miss the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Prior to the 2002–03 season, Sprewell reported to training camp with a broken hand, which he claimed occurred when he slipped on his yacht; the Knicks fined him a record $250,000 for failing to report the incident to them. Sprewell sued the New York Post for claiming that he broke his hand in a fight.^[3]

That season, Sprewell made NBA history as he connected 9 of 9 from the three-point arc, making the most three pointers without a single miss en route to a season-high 38 points versus the Los Angeles Clippers. The record has since been tied by then-Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon and broken by Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, who made 10 threes without missing in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After the season in which the Knicks missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, Sprewell was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a four-team trade involving Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson, and Terrell Brandon.

Minnesota Timberwolves

In the 2003–04 season, Sprewell became part of the league's highest-scoring trio, alongside superstar power forward Kevin Garnett and point guard Sam Cassell. With a 58-24 record, the Timberwolves qualified for the 2004 playoffs, making the field as the first seed in the Western Conference. They navigated past the Denver Nuggets in five games and Sacramento Kings in seven games in the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Western Conference Finals they met the Los Angeles Lakers. Here their playoff run came to an end when they were defeated by the Lakers in 6 games. This remains the only appearance by the Timberwolves in the conference finals. Sprewell finished second in team scoring, pacing at 19.9 ppg behind Garnett's 24.0 ppg.

On October 31, 2004, the Minnesota Timberwolves offered Sprewell a 3-year, $21 million contract extension, substantially less than what his then-current contract paid him. Claiming to feel insulted by the offer, he publicly expressed outrage, declaring, "I have a family to feed ... If Glen Taylor wants to see my family fed, he better cough up some money. Otherwise, you're going to see these kids in one of those Sally Struthers commercials soon."^[1] He declined the extension, and, having once more drawn the ire of fans and sports media, had the worst season of his career in the final year of his contract. In the summer of 2005, the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Houston Rockets all expressed interest in signing Sprewell, but no agreements were reached.

One month into the 2005–06 season and without a contract, Sprewell's agent, Bob Gist, said his client would rather retire than play for the NBA minimum salary, telling Sports Illustrated, "Latrell doesn't need the money that badly. To go from being offered $7 million to taking $1 million, that would be a slap in the face." Several days later, Gist said that Sprewell planned to wait until "teams get desperate" around the trade deadline in February, and then sign with a contending team (an eventuality that never materialized). Gist said that Sprewell would not be interested in signing for any team's $5 million mid-level exception, calling that amount "a level beneath which [Sprewell] would not stoop or kneel!"

In March 2006, Sprewell was offered contracts by the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, both of whom were considered at the time to be strong favorites to win the NBA Championship, but Sprewell failed to respond and remained a free agent as the season came to a close. There was also some interest in Sprewell by the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of the 2005–06 season but no agreement was reached.

Over the course of his career, Sprewell started 868 of 913 games he played in, averaging 18.8 ppg, 4.2 apg and 4.1 rpg with playoff career averages of 19.7 ppg, 3.4 apg and 4.3 rpg. Sprewell was named to the All-NBA First Team at the end of his second season, and to the All-NBA Defensive second team that same year.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Sprewell's personal life since he last played in the NBA has been plagued with controversy and financial trouble. In 1994, Sprewell's daughter was attacked by his pet dog, and she required surgery. ^[7] At junior college, Sprewell was arrested for stealing.^[8] In 2016, Sprewell appeared in a Priceline.com television advertisement, poking fun at himself.

Relationships

On August 30, 2006, Milwaukee police investigated a claim by a 21-year-old female who claimed that she and Sprewell were having consensual sex aboard his 70-foot (21 m) yacht, named "Milwaukee's Best", when Sprewell began to strangle her. Police allegedly observed red marks on the woman's neck. Police investigating the allegation searched Sprewell's yacht for evidence.^[9] On September 6, 2006, police indicated that he would not face any charges from the alleged incident. Sprewell sought a restraining order against the woman along with "civil remedies" against the accuser.^[10]

On January 31, 2007, Sprewell's long term companion sued him for $200 million for ending their relationship agreement. She claimed Sprewell agreed to support her and their four children while they were in college.^[1]

Property

On August 22, 2007, it was reported by multiple news agencies that Latrell Sprewell's yacht was repossessed by federal marshals after Sprewell failed to maintain payments and insurance for the vessel, for which he reportedly still owed approximately $1.3 million.^[11] In addition, while piloted by Sprewell, the yacht ran ashore near Atwater Beach, just north of Milwaukee. Sprewell refused to contract with a professional salvage firm to remove the yacht. The yacht was eventually freed with the help of a local fishing vessel.^[12]

In February 2008, Sprewell's yacht was auctioned for $856,000 after he defaulted on a $1.5 million mortgage,^[13] and in May 2008 a Milwaukee area home owned by Sprewell went into foreclosure status.^[14] Between September 2007 and January 2008, documents revealed that Sprewell failed to make his mortgage payments of $2,593 per month.^[15] In July 2009, a Westchester mansion owned by Sprewell went into foreclosure status.^[16] That action was dismissed on motion of another party's attorney, Roger K. Marion.^[16]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders

References

External links

• Sprewell Bio at NBA.com
• Latrell Sprewell at Basketball-Reference.com
• #1 Hoops Feud of All Time
• Latrell Sprewell: The American Dream