FORMER PBA import Rashad McCants pointed to his ill-fated relationship with celebrity Khloe Kardashian as the cause of the quick downfall of what could have been a multi-million dollar basketball career.
In an interview with Charlotte Observer’s C. Jackson Cowart, McCants revealed that his biggest regret was dating reality TV star Kardashian as the University of North Carolina standout said it casted doubts on his commitment and focus to his NBA career.
“Without that situation in play, I’m a $60-70 million player,” said McCants, the 14th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Easily.”
McCants, who averaged 10 points per game in four NBA seasons, dated Kardashian for seven months before the reality TV star called it off in late January 2009, shortly before he got traded from Minnesota to Sacramento.
McCants has not played in the NBA since, while Kardashian is currently dating Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson.
The 32-year-old guard bounced around in the NBA D-League before playing in international leagues, including a forgettable two-game stint in the 2012 PBA Governors Cup for Powerade.
Now he’s found his home in the BIG3, the new US 3-on-3 league featuring former NBA players and another ex-PBA import in Ivan Johnson, with no realistic shot at getting back in the NBA.
“At 32 years old, with seven years being unacknowledged at all, it’s not gonna be my fight to get back to a place that doesn’t want me. To be picked No. 1 in the BIG3, it feels like home,” said McCants.
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