- Sprewell was a talented player before the infamous choking incident with his former Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.
- On top of that, Sprewell had a couple of run-ins with the law, one of which landed him in home arrest for three months.
- Sprewell was aware of how most people perceived him because of his publicized problems and the poor reputation he established in the NBA.
Money and celebrity may get you out of a lot of sticky situations, but even that technique has its limitations. Just ask Latrell Sprewell of the New York Knicks, who was briefly placed under house arrest.
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It still seemed like a prison.
Sprewell was a talented player before the infamous choking incident with his former Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.
Spree was already a productive shooting guard/small forward during his stint with the Warriors.
However, it was with the Knicks that he was a part of something historic: New York’s NBA championship run in 1999.
But, while Sprewell was part of the Knicks squad that rallied to the Finals as an eighth-seeded club that year,
he wasn’t as fortunate off the court.
Spree’s daughter, for example, was mauled by their dog in 1993, causing major damage to the child’s ear.
On top of that, Sprewell had a couple of run-ins with the law, one of which landed him in home arrest for three months.
In 1998, Sprewell injured a couple in an automobile accident in California.
The four-time NBA All-Star faced a six-month prison sentence,
but it was lowered to three months of home detention after he pleaded no contest to reckless driving.
Sprewell did not serve time in prison
, but the suffering was the same.
“It’s been difficult. In 1999, Sprewell told The New York Post, “I never said it was simple.”
“However, as I previously stated, when you reflect on all that you’ve gone through,
especially the toughest situations in life, you simply begin to think,
‘Hey, if I made it through that, you know, I can take whatever.'”
And I’m going to keep my head held high.
Except for what I went through with my daughter,
nothing has been worse in my life up to this time, therefore I think I’m fine.”
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Someone entirely different
Sprewell was aware of how most people perceived him because of his publicized problems and the poor reputation he established in the NBA.
Despite his unfavorable image, Spree stated he slept well at night knowing he wasn’t the nasty guy they believed he was.
“I don’t have that problem, and that’s one of the myths about me,” Spree added in the same interview.
“And I attempted to tell folks that I don’t have that problem.”
Off the court, I’m a very different person.”
Despite all that happened off the court that year, Sprewell was able to maintain his game consistently.
In reality, he spent the following four seasons with the Knicks as a steady player before going on to have another
outstanding run with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the final two years of his career.
