- Joe Smith played 16 years in the NBA with many different teams in the league
- But just a few years after retiring from the sport, he was running out of money
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Ex-NBA player Joe Smith has revealed that his fortune has dropped to just $3,000 in 2018 after earning $61 million during his long career.
Smith, who has been in the news lately for a viral video in which he discovered his wife had an OnlyFans account, was the first overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft.
But years after his career ended, he struggled to make ends meet as he battled depression, he said VLAD TV in a new interview.
“It was a really low point,” Smith said. “When I say I was in a deep, deep, deep depression, like I was mentally disturbed, I’m telling you I was there.”
Smith, who last played for the Lakers in 2011, added that his NBA retirement “has not yet commenced.”
Joe Smith revealed to VLAD TV that his NBA fortune disappeared after his playing days
The former NBA star was filmed by wife Kisha Chavis when she told him she had an OnlyFans
The former player also started an individual coaching company in 2015, he says.
In 2018, Smith was featured on “Back in the Game,” a reality show hosted by Alex Rodriguez designed to get former athletes back on track financially.
And while Smith doesn’t regret appearing on the program, he thought it would have a bigger impact on his life.
“I thought that TV show would help more with the things they said they would do, and help me with,” he said.
“But when we finished shooting, that was it. I couldn’t get in touch with anyone on the TV show… So I was just left out after that show aired.
In the same interview, Smith emphasized that the video of him discovering his wife, Kisha Chavis, getting back into the X-rated business via OnlyFans was not a stunt.
Joe Smith plays for the Golden State Warriors during the 1996 NBA season
Chavis is a former adult actress and shared footage of the moment he heard about her joining the website.
‘Those are bulls***. That sucks Kish,” he is heard saying. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here and finding out you have OnlyFans. After all these years.
Speaking to VLAD TV after his viral moment, he said: “We don’t understand the kind of influence we have around the world.
‘I haven’t been in the media or in the public eye for a long time.’