# The All-Time All-Drug Team



## 3243 (Apr 15, 2009)

Assembling the All-Time All-Drug Team here, NBA and ABA players who were known drug addicts, especially those whose careers were ruined by drugs.

I guess I'll start with Len Bias, whose life ended prematurely because of a cocaine overdose. And then:
Micheal Ray Richardson
the Houston Rockets' mid-'80s Columbian Connection guard rotation (John Lucas, Lewis Lloyd, & Mitchell Wiggins)
J.R. "Easy" Rider
David Thompson
Marvin "Bad News" Barnes (a heroin--among other things--user)
John Brisker (by the time he got to Seattle)
John Drew
Spencer Haywood
pretty much the entire Trail Blazers' roster, circa 1998-2003

Any others?


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## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

The late '90s/early 2000s JailBlazers had a couple of people who were caught with marijuana (namely, Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace), but they hardly qualify for this list.

A lot of the players from the '70s used drugs, not just David Thompson (see George Gervin, for example). Thompson's career ended for good in 1984 because of a knee injury suffered while tumbling down a flight of stairs during a fist fight at New York's Studio 54 nightclub.

I also would include Walter Davis. Davis twice entered rehab clinics to deal with cocaine addiction and in 1987 testified in an ugly drug scandal involving his Suns teammates that nearly destroyed the franchise. Speaking of John Drew, you also need to consider his former Atlanta Hawks teammate, "Fast Eddie" Johnson.

I definitely would nominate Roy Tarpley, a former NBA sixth man of the year who was basically Dwight Howard 1.0. He arguably is a bigger poster child than Len Bias for the '86 drug draft, because we saw what kind of player he could have become. I also would nominate Richard Dumas, of the early '90s Suns teams.


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

bernard king had his issues, although like gervin he rebounded pretty well (from drug and alcohol addiction at least).


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## Prolific Scorer (Dec 16, 2005)

I think I remember reading an article back in the day accusing the Seattle Sonics organization of knowing Shawn Kemp had a problem with cocaine years before trading him to Cleveland in 1998.


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## bandits1 (Mar 26, 2006)

Don't forget Richard Dumas. That guy could've been _very_ good. Quick, explosive, nice jumper, went hard to the rim. 

I have a whole bunch of his worthless rookie cards:


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## Chan Ho Nam (Jan 9, 2007)

there's one player who admitted to being drunk in every nba game he's played in


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## kstatesuns (Mar 28, 2008)

Prolific Scorer said:


> I think I remember reading an article back in the day accusing the Seattle Sonics organization of knowing Shawn Kemp had a problem with cocaine years before trading him to Cleveland in 1998.



Dumas is a good one. How about Walter Davis? Faced a nice cocaine suspension of his own.


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## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

chairman5 said:


> there's one player who admitted to being drunk in every nba game he's played in


that was keon clark


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## 3243 (Apr 15, 2009)

I recall the Bad Boy-era Pistons' William Bedford being a big coke user.

And I think Paul Mokeski was mentioned in conection with the Suns' drug scandal. I do remember him tearfully denying his involvement in it. He _was_ later arrested for cocaine possession in 2000 as a semi-pro league coach.

Former Laker Corrie Blount was recently sentenced to one year in prison for felony marijuana possession (the authorities dropped the intent-to-sell charges against him). A few months ago, police intercepted an 11-pound shipment sent to him at a relative's house, and they later found an additional 18 pounds at Blount's own house. In court, Blount said that all of that weed was purely for his own personal use.


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## roux (Jun 20, 2006)

Chris Anderson could be considered, with his year plus drug suspension, Richardson and Tarpley were the first two guys i thought of, Pot shouldnt count, so many guys in the league smoke its not even funny


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## bandits1 (Mar 26, 2006)

roux2dope said:


> Chris Anderson could be considered, with his year plus drug suspension, Richardson and Tarpley were the first two guys i thought of, Pot shouldnt count, so many guys in the league smoke its not even funny


I think the point of this thread is compiling a list of guys whose careers were ruined by drug use. Anderson is doing as well as he ever would have, drug suspension or not.


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## BadBaronRudigor (Jul 27, 2006)

Hell, if you included steroids, you'd probably take out 80-90%


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## 3243 (Apr 15, 2009)

Two more from the '80s: Chris Washburn and Quentin Daley.


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## roux (Jun 20, 2006)

bandits1 said:


> I think the point of this thread is compiling a list of guys whose careers were ruined by drug use. Anderson is doing as well as he ever would have, drug suspension or not.


That is true


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## Piolo_Pascual (Sep 13, 2006)

bandits1 said:


> Don't forget Richard Dumas. That guy could've been _very_ good. Quick, explosive, nice jumper, went hard to the rim.
> 
> I have a whole bunch of his worthless rookie cards:


nice. i have a pervis ellison refractor. wanna trade?


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