“I fired his a*s”: Rashad McCants discloses on being ‘blackmailed’ by agent before dumping Khloe Kardashian
Rashad McCants has been very open about how his relationship with Khloe Kardashian impacted his NBA career. After being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005, McCants dealt with injuries that notably held him back from reaching his potential. It wasn't until the 2007-08 season that he broke through, averaging career-highs across the board. However, it didn't last.
As he has explained since then, once he began his relationship with Khloe Kardashian, the attention that he received impacted his relationships. As a result of the unwanted attention, his relationships with teammates, coaches, and staff members suffered.
In a recent appearance on "Holdin Court," he discussed how the relationship even impacted his relationship with his agent. As the former NBA player explained, after his agent talked him into breaking up with Kardashian, Rashad McCants saw the agent at Khloe and Lamar Odom's wedding.
Recalling the timeline, McCants explained that just weeks after breaking up with Kardashian, she began dating Lamar Odom. He and Odom shared the same agent, causing quite a conflict of interest.
"My agent told me to dump Chloe because she was going to be bad for my career, but then was in the wedding with Lamar. I fired his a*s. As soon as I seen it. That's crazy. Then he blackballed me because he had never been fired and he was the number one agent ... he was trying to tell me to get rid of her early on."
Rashad McCants continues to believe that he was blackballed from the NBA
In the past, Rashad McCants has notably stated that he believes he was blackballed from the NBA. Although there's no concrete proof that the NBA ever conspired to blackball him from the league as a result of his relationship.
Despite that, many believe that McCants simply fell victim to the 'Kardashian Curse,' like many other players both before and after him. Although he has been open about the fact that he believes the 'Kardashian Curse' is more of a mental thing than a genuine curse, he's maintained that he was blackballed from the league.
In the previously mentioned appearance on "Holdin Court" recently, he explained how even after breaking up with Kardashian teams had already lost interest.
"For me, I didn't understand how it correlated with me playing. And then once I got rid of her, I seen that the reputation had already faltered where other teams didn't want to pick me up based on what was being said and being seen."
Despite maintaining his averages in the 2008-09 season, where he split time between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings, he struggled physically. With an abdominal problem, he was unable to participate in training camp with the Houston Rockets the following season.
After then attempting a comeback the following offseason, Rashad McCants was cut from the Dallas Mavericks training camp roster, marking the end of his NBA career.