Joe Smith Discusses Wasting $61M NBA Fortune

Former No. 1 NBA draft pick Joe Smith, who played 15 years in the league discusses losing his $61 million fortune.

Joe Smith, the No. 1 selection in the 1995 NBA Draft, recently discussed how he blew through the $61 million he made during his 15-year NBA career.

Smith, who played college basketball at Maryland, was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and played for 12 different franchises from 1995 to 2011, making $61.2 million.

The former Warrior recently made an appearance on VladTV, where he discussed how his NBA earnings have dropped to $3,000. Despite earning more than $60 million, Smith said he took home less than $20 million due to taxes, fees, and management costs.

“It was a very low point,” Smith said in the interview. “Like, when I say I was in a deep, deep, deep depression, like mentally messed up, I’m telling you I was there.”

“I bought my mom’s house in Virginia, bought a house in the Bay, and I bought a house in Milwaukee,” Smith continued. ‘Those are three houses that I bought and lost a lot of money to get them off my hands. So, that’s when the issue came on the other end too; I didn’t make anything off the houses once I had to sell them.

In addition to the houses he purchased, the power forward bought several luxury cars but said his divorce cost him a significant amount of money as well.

“That’s what really cost me,” Smith said of his 2011 divorce. “I laugh about it now, but that’s what really cost me. The divorce left me with not much at all. That’s where a bulk of my retirement money went.”

During his career, Smith averaged 10.9 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game and 1.0 assists per game. Smith’s best year came during the 1996-97 season when he averaged 18.7ppg and 8.5 rpg. In addition to the Warriors, the No. 1 draft pick played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, and L.A. Lakers