The NBA in the 1990s saw many “proven horses” and Latrell Sprewell was one of them. At the age of 22, he appeared in the 1992 Draft and was called in the first round, 24th pick by the Golden State Warriors.
The player born in 1970 is versatile and had very impressive performances in his rookie season. Sprewell appeared in 77 matches in his first season and averaged 15.4 points; 3.5 rebounds; 3.8 assists with FG reaching 46%.
Those are numbers that show the huge potential of this point guard. He quickly gained trust and played an average of 75 games per season after that. Responding to the coaching staff’s expectations, Sprewell averaged over 20 points; over 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
Until his sixth season with GSW, the player born in 1970 had made three All-Star appearances, but his beautiful image in the eyes of fans suddenly disappeared after an incident at the training ground. .
On December 1, 1997, during a GSW practice session, coach PJ Carlesimo approached Sprewell and shouted loudly asking his student to pass faster. Sprewell replied that he was not in a good mood and did not want to be criticized, asking the coach to stay away from him, otherwise he would be killed!
Tension was sparked after Sprewell’s statement. Coach Carlesimo still moved closer and he witnessed what his student said was true
Sprewell grabbed the coach’s neck, threw him to the ground and used all his strength to suffocate his teacher. The players and coaching staff were surprised because everything happened so quickly, it took them 10-15 seconds to figure out and rush in to pull Sprewell out.
Coach Carlesimo’s face was red, he was coughing and choking with his fingertips imprinted on his neck and a large tear that kept bleeding, but that wasn’t the end. Sprewell went into the room to shower, change clothes, and 20 minutes later he came out and threw another punch in the eye of his teacher.
GSW did not want to make a big deal of it and only gave Sprewell a 10-match ban. They still needed this player because he was simply one of the team’s brightest stars.
But the next day, a strong wave of protest broke out from among Golden State Warriors fans, forcing the board of directors to unilaterally terminate the remaining 3-year contract with a salary of up to 23.7 million USD. by Sprewell. The NBA also banned this defender from playing the rest of the season, equivalent to 68 group stage matches.
But Sprewell did not sit still. The player born in 1970 brought the case to the international court in London and he won. In the end, GSW was the side that suffered the most, their coach was attacked, important players were still banned for the rest of the season, and they could not terminate Sprewell’s contract.
14 months after the incident, Sprewell was traded to the New York Knicks, GSW received 3 names: John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings. Moving to a new team, Sprewell is still at the center of many troubles both on and off the football field.
However, this pitcher’s on-field performance was still quite impressive. He was even trusted with the captain’s armband in the 2000-01 season after the legendary Ewing left.
Early in the following season, Sprewell went to training camp with a broken hand, and the New York Knicks fined him a record $250,000 because the player did not report the injury immediately, which was also his peak performance. Players born in 1970 started to decline.
The last mark that Sprewell made that season was scoring 38 points against the LA Clippers. He entered NBA history when he threw 9 three-point shots and succeeded in all 9. However, that was not enough. so that the Knicks board of directors would accept to keep Sprewell.
He was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves and played 2 seasons here, before being forgotten by the NBA. After 13 seasons, Latrell Sprewell has an average of 18.3 points; 4.1 rebounds; 4 assists. He made 4 All-Star appearances and 1 All-NBA appearance.
Latrell Sprewell should have had a more impressive career. This player’s performances on the field are always excellent, but what he shows off the floor always makes teams shy.
From drinking alcohol, driving at a speed of 100km/h, assaulting others, attacking the police to strangling, punching the coach and suing their team to court, it is difficult for clubs to open their hearts to the horse. This multi-talented talent!
