Players come and go in the NBA, and stars are no exception. Due to varying degrees of factors, they could be playing their best basketball this year but also become footnotes in the NBA annals in just a snap.
In today’s list, we will discuss 10 NBA players who had the most depressing endings in their careers.
Which NBA players had the most depressing ending in their basketball career?
John Wall
There was a time when John Wall was considered one of the league’s future faces in the 2010s. As the number one overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall literally blew everybody right out of the gates due to his quickness and effectiveness around the paint.
After suffering multiple injury woes from 2017 to 2020, Wall’s game took a bit of a decline. From the Wizards, he was traded to Houston in 2020 but only played 40 games for them despite scoring over 20 ppg. He then had a 34-game stint with the Clippers in 2023. Due to his shooting inconsistencies, the league decided that he was no longer capable of leading a team. At just the age of 32, Wall is out of an NBA job.
Shawn Kemp
Who could forget Shawn Kemp in the 1990s? As one of the most recognizable players with the Sonics, Kemp once had the NBA watching his every move on and off the court due to his popularity.
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During the lockout-shortened season in 1998-1999, Kemp reportedly went to camp weighing over 300 pounds—far from his playing weight of 260 pounds. The 6-foot-10 high flyer basically lost the ability to be productive in the league, never fully recovering from his weight issues. He was out of an NBA job in 2003 after playing for a few teams in the latter part of his career.
Jay Williams
The National College of the Year in 2002, Jay Williams out of Duke was hyped to become the next great point guard in the NBA. He was selected 2nd overall by the Bulls in the same year and was immediately given the keys to the franchise.
Williams had a good rookie season with Chicago, and his potential to become a solid player was evident in the eyes of many. However, during the 2003 offseason, Williams was involved in a motorcycle accident, which ultimately cut short his playing career. Despite surviving his injuries, he was never able to play in the league again. The Bulls terminated his contract but still gave him $3 million to use in his rehabilitation process.
Stephon Marbury
Marbury is arguably one of the most dynamic NBA players in the late 1990s and early 2000s era. He was loved anywhere he went due to his flashy brand of basketball. His crossovers were effective and crowds often went nuts for it, especially when Marbury embarrassed a helpless defender on the court.
After his trade to the Knicks, the former star’s career went downhill. He had a very public feud with then-Knicks head coach Larry Brown. After Brown was fired in 2006, the cycle continued, with Marbury beefing with Brown’s replacement, Isiah Thomas. There were unconfirmed reports that the two came to blows on the team plane and subsequent blackmail threats persisted during their time together on the Knicks. Eventually, Marbury was banned by the Knicks from attending any team activities early in the 2008-2009 season. He had a brief stint with the Celtics in 2009, Marbury was out of the NBA at just 32.
Delonte West
While Delonte West isn’t on the same tier as other players on this list, he gets a nod due to the sad and depressing state his personal life is in right now. During his time in the league, West was one of the most dependable role players in the NBA and had successful stints with the Celtics, Supersonics, Cavs, and Mavs.
His career in the association essentially ended after a preseason game with the Mavs in 2012, following an argument with a fellow team member. It all went spiraling down from there on as West appears to have lost all of his career earnings and lived on the streets from time to time due to drug addiction and mental illness.
Latrell Sprewell
“I got family to feed” were the words that doomed Sprewell’s NBA career after he rejected the Wolves’ 3-year $21 million contract extension in 2004. Sprewell’s career in the league had its ups and downs, but he seemingly surpassed everything that was thrown at him with flying colors.
But at the end of Minnesota’s playoff run in 2004, Sprewell inexplicably declined the reasonable contract offer of the team in the most eccentric way possible. Confident of his abilities that a team may throw crazy numbers for his services during his impending free agency in 2005, everything quickly fell apart for Sprewell as he played poorly in the 2004-2005 NBA season. Teams steered away from his services during the free agency period and their interest in Sprewell waned almost overnight.
Isaiah Thomas
How come a guy who once finished 5th in MVP voting became a fringe NBA player a year after averaging almost 29 ppg? That’s the sad story behind 5 foot 9 Thomas’s career in the league. In one snap, he went from superstar status with the Celtics to a guy who’s begging for a chance to play in the league again.
Truth be told, Thomas did suffer from a hip injury, which is common for small guys playing in the league. While he managed to recover physically, his skills on the court did not. While he’s not yet technically retired, it’s quite baffling that a player of his caliber fell completely off everybody’s radar in just the blink of an eye.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins was one of the top players in the NBA in the 2010s. Skill-wise, he was one of a kind, as he could shoot threes, lead a fastbreak, had decent post moves, and was lethal in the post. It’s too bad that he wasted it all in a Kings uniform, as they were pretty bad during that time, but still, the guy can ball.
After suffering an ACL tear in 2018 as a member of the Pelicans, Cousins never fully regained his old form as an effective player. He bounced around a few teams within the next few years and was out of the league in 2022, at just 31.
Tracy McGrady
During his heyday, Tracy McGrady was the only player who could rival Kobe Bryant on the offensive end. Even Kobe admitted that he had a hard time guarding T-Mac, as the latter was much taller(6 foot 8) than Bryant(6 foot 6).
Injuries robbed McGrady of his prime years, but that’s not the most depressing part of his story. Instead of retiring, the former scoring champion continued to play in the league, albeit in smaller roles for multiple teams, before finally hanging up his basketball shoes for good in 2013 at only 33 years old.
Magic Johnson
While Johnson’s career after the league turned out extremely okay, the way it ended was really depressing during that time. After appearing in the NBA Finals in 1991(the Lakers lost to the Bulls, 4-1), Magic abruptly retired from the league due to his HIV diagnosis.
As a result of his sudden retirement at the peak of his career, the world was divided on Johnson’s shocking retirement. HIV wasn’t fully understood during that time and people were vocal about their opinions regarding Magic’s illness. It’s such a sad way to end the career of one of the best players who ever played in the NBA.
