Who is Antoine Walker?
Antoine Devon Walker was born on 12 August 1976, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and is a retired professional basketball player, known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He spent most of his career playing with the Boston Celtics, before playing with other teams, most notably winning a championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat.
The Net Worth of Antoine Walker
As of early-2020, Antoine Walker’s net worth is estimated to be over $250,000, earned through a successful career in professional basketball. While he had earned over $100 million thanks to high-valued contracts within the NBA, he developed a gambling addiction which eventually left him in debt, declaring bankruptcy.
Early Life, Education, and College Basketball
At a young age, Antoine showed a lot of dedication to basketball, constantly training and improving his skills, dreaming of becoming a part of the NBA. He attended Mount Carmel High School where he played alongside Donovan McNabb who would later become a professional American Football player – it wasn’t/isn’t uncommon for athletes to play multiple sports in high school. Thanks to his statistics and performance, he was offered a full athletic scholarship at the University of Kentucky and to play for them, competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I.
He played under Coach Rick Pitino during his time there, and he became a starter during his freshman year, being named as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He was named to multiple teams and was awarded multiple honors during his two years in the school. He was also a part of the 1996 Basketball Championship-winning team. After his sophomore year, with prospects on him high, he opted out of his scholarship to pursue a career in the NBA.
Early NBA Career
Walker declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected as the sixth overall pick by the Boston Celtics.
He performed well during his rookie season despite the team performing poorly, the lowest they have finished in its entire history. Then Pitino became the coach of the Celtics and utilized him well, leading him to all-star status, reaching highs in many statistics. He was joined by future star Paul Pierce in 1998, forming a talented duo that helped the team reach the play-offs in 2001. They reached the finals of the Eastern Conference, but eventually lost against the New Jersey Nets.
The Celtics failed to reach the play-offs in the following season, and he was then traded with Tony Delk to the Dallas Mavericks. Due to the Mavericks having many high-quality players, he was barely used while with them, and was eventually traded to the Atlanta Hawks.
After spending some time without much attention with the Hawks, he was traded back to the Celtics where he played the remainder of the 2005 season, playing alongside Gary Payton and Al Jefferson.
Championship with Miami and Retirement
Following that season, Antoine was then traded in a large five-team deal, the largest in the history of the NBA, which led him to move to the Miami Heat, reuniting him with Gary Payton. During his time with the Heat, he played mostly from the bench in forward positions. He quickly adjusted to the role and became the team’s sixth-man, and led them in three-point shots and shooting percentages. He continued improving throughout the play-offs and helped with crucial threes during pivotal games in the play-offs.
The team eventually reached the NBA finals after defeating the New Jersey Nets, and in the final series they played against the Dallas Mavericks, with him consistently posting good numbers to help lead the Heat to the championship in six games, playing alongside the likes of Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. n the following year, he played nowhere near the level of the previous season, with most of his statistics dipping. The Heat lost during the first round of the play-offs against the Chicago Bulls, after which he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, then after a year to the Memphis Grizzlies before getting waived. Following his release, he briefly played in Puerto Rico and the NBA Development League, hoping to get a chance once more at the NBA, but eventually retired.
Robberies
In 2000, Walker was spending some time with former teammate and close friend Nazr Mohammed when the duo was robbed after leaving a restaurant in Chicago. This would not be the last occurrence of a robbery in his life, as seven years later two criminals discovered the location of his house and robbed him at gunpoint, stlalinge his Mercedes and around $200,000 in merchandise. After the police werecalled, they found his car though it was stripped of many of its expensive customizations. Four men were eventually arrested, with two of the criminals having previously robbed celebrities, including former NBA player Eddy Curry.
Recent Projects and Personal Life
Antoine was engaged to reality television personality Evelyn Lozada from 1998 to 2008, but they called things off. She is best known for being one of the main cast members of “Basketball Wives”. During the latter part of Walker’s career, he suffered from numerous vices including alcohol and gambling which effectively saw him lose most of the wealth he had gained during his career. In 2010 he filed for bankruptcy in Florida, after reporting debts reaching $12.7 million. Most of his real estate and luxury assets had to be sold to cover the debt and the bankruptcy attorney.
Before the filing, he had been arrested several times, trying to write bad checks while spending time in Las Vegas casinos. He had become addicted to gambling, quickly losing as much money as he gained with bad decisions. These habits also led to his noticeably deminished performance in basketball, as he had also gained weight. Many attribute the problems stemming from his break-up with Evelyn Lozada.
With the help of Nazr Mohammed, he was able to work through his debt, and after three years, declared that he was debt-free. In recent years, he’s been working as a basketball analyst, becoming a part of the teams for the SEC Network and 120 Sports.