Just a few months after the San Antonio Spurs took down Miami Heat at the AT&T Center in Texas, we’re now ready for another exciting NBA season once again. But while we’re excitedly anticipating the start of the new season, which comes to our screens on 28th October, there’s no doubt that the National Basketball Association players will be taking a well-deserved rest before the season starts again.
Quite how these players get their rest depends on the players – NBA stars old and new have been known to have quite the colorful lives off the court. Here are a few examples of the weird and wonderful hobbies of our favorite stars.
Gambling
While you won’t find Charles Barkley shooting any hoops on the court nowadays, in 2006, six years after retiring, he made an embarrassing confession. The former Houston Rockets power forward admitted to squandering $10 million on gambling. It’s alleged that the star once lost $2.5 million in a six-hour period playing blackjack, meanwhile the Wynn Hotel chain also filed a complaint when he delayed in paying off a $400,000 gambling debt. Barkley officially retired himself from gambling in 2007, but with the added temptations of Canadian mobile casinos out there, he may just be tempted to have a cheeky bet once again.
Fast cars
It’s the classic cliché, but one sports star has a pretty impressive collection of sports cars under his belt. Antoine Walker, former power forward for Miami Heat, made something of a gross error when he spent $110 million on a range of fancy cars, including two Bentleys, two Mercedes, a Range Rover, a Cadillac Escalade and a Hummer. Unfortunately for Walker, his purchases would go on to bankrupt him, but it’s not all bad news for the motorhead NBA stars out there. Former Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal has a healthy bank balance and 30 cars under his belt, including a Lamborghini Gallardo and Hummer H2s amongst others.
Roller skating
Dribbling around the court isn’t enough for Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, it seems – he has another hobby in which he likes to indulge, but it’s not quite the same set of wheels as mentioned above. The 28-year-old enjoys roller skating in his spare time, saying: “When I skate I’m in my own world – it’s peaceful and relaxing.” It’s also far less risky than the hobbies of other NBA stars!
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