How did Joe Smith end up in debt despite earning over $61 million during his NBA career? Lesser known details on former Wolves star
Former No. 1 draft pick Joe Smith has become a cautionary tale in the league after he blew over $61 million in career earnings. Despite the widespread belief that playing in the NBA makes you an instant millionaire, Smith's reality was indeed harsher.
After accounting for taxes, agent fees and management fees, the former Golden State Warrior reportedly only took home about $18 million from 16 years playing in the NBA. Despite the large amount of money he earned, the lavish lifestyle, extravagant spending habits, luxury cars, bad investment properties and costly divorce led to his financial downfall, according to CNBC.
During an interview with former MLB star Alex Rodriguez on the TV show "Back in the Game" in 2018, Smith and his fiancee Kisha Chavis were able to reevaluate their finances. With a total of $26,000 yearly earnings and expenses totaling $133,000, the couple was indeed drowning in debt.
“A lot of people think once you sign that contract, you’re just an automatic millionaire," said Smith to Rodriguez. “But it doesn’t work like that. Nobody really explained that and broke that down to me, that Uncle Sam, out of that $3 million, Uncle Sam is going to take probably $1.5 [million] of that. That was just something I had to learn.”
“Once I got traded, it was always tough to unload those homes,” he added. “I was always losing money.”
Smith, who last played in the NBA back in 2011, has been working as a part-time basketball coach and, with the help of Alex Rodriguez, transformed his knowledge into a coaching business.
Joe Smith's wife opened an OnlyFans account to make ends meet
Joe Smith was surprised and upset to find out that his wife, Kisha Chavis, had hidden an OnlyFans account from him, as shown on a YouTube video.
Smith confronted his wife, expressing the shock and feeling of disrespect for not being informed earlier.
"I can't believe I'm sitting here finding out you got an OnlyFans all these years. Disrespect-- that you could even talk to me before you did. That's f**ked up. I'm telling you, that's f**cked up," said Smith.
Chavis defended her actions, stating that it was her body and decision to put up an OnlyFans account. She added that being active on the platform helped her survive financially.
"You act like that's the only thing that I do," said Chavis. "I have mad jobs but they're not facilitating everything that needs to be done so I got something extra OnlyFans be breaking me off. What the f**k?"
During his NBA career, Joe Smith faced personal challenges, including a divorce from his first wife Yolanda Smith, in 2011. They share a son, Amir Smith, who is currently playing in Europe.
Despite the split, Joe financially supported Yolanda, giving her $10,000 monthly, which was later reduced to $968.
Throughout his 16-year NBA career, Joe Smith averaged 10.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.