Gone in an Instant - Antoine Walker's Rise and Fall

[beezer]

ESPN is producing a documentary on Antoine Walker's rise to fame and his epic financial collapse.  Having an irrational love of 'Toine means I'm excited to watch it, but ready to be extremely depressed watching them detail the $100M he blew. 
 
Some of the quotes from the trailer below stick out, such as Pitino talking about how he stayed up nights worrying about Walker or Toine himself talking about how he spent $300k/year on clothes.  I'm just hoping they find a way to end the documentary with a collection of his best Walker Wiggles.
 
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11262284/antoine-walker-reframes-tale-woe-sessions-scoop
 
Side note: I met him at his welcome back to Boston party after they traded for him and he was insanely cool.  Some friends and I were in the VIP area and got to spend a lot of the night chatting with Toine, Payton, Perkins, and West.  Antoine was a funny guy and loved to bust on his teammates.  Then he suddenly left the rest of us when these two gorgeous girls got his attention.

 

[eddiew112]

Antoine was a great guy, I met him a number of times and one of my friends knew him very well. I have irrational love for him as well. Very, very talented player who could do it all offensively. It's a real shame he never reigned in his excess on and off the court.

 

[DJnVa]

Another big Toine fan. I'll be excited and a bit depressed to watch.

 

[Luis Taint]

I can talk about Toine's awesomeness. One day, I went to play golf at Leo J. Martin golf course, with my dad. I am sitting in a golf cart waiting for my dad, and I see  Antoine  walking up the hill toward me, no entourage, just him. He was on his phone, but he gave me the head nod. Since it was only my dad and I, I got put in the same group with him. I am not the worlds biggest Celtics fan, but I do watch on occasion. We took the same cart, and I couldn't believe how down to earth he was. We both sucked equally and I thought it was hilarious that every time, he sliced he would yell "fuck". Playing with him was an absolute blast and after our round, we went back to the clubhouse and he bought everyone lunch, and watch him gun 5 hot dogs, like a champ. I asked him why he was playing on a community course and he laughed and said "have you seen me play?" 
 
A couple of years later, I was at New York Pizza, after a night of drinking at Wally's, and who is there but Antoine, Paul Pierce and this giant entourage.
 
"Hey Luis, how's the game?" said my favorite Celtic.
 
I have followed his downfall, and could see how it could have happened. He just seemed like a kind, generous guy. It sucks.

 

[wutang112878]

Not only is his financial story sad but so is his playing story. If he never fell in love with the 3 but instead made playing down low his passion and kept his body fat under 7% I have no doubt he would be in the Hall of Fame. I never understood how he could be working down low against a bigger man and take his "quick half step back pop up jumper" and not only get it off but be so accurate with it. His post game was incredible but he just didn't care to use it. That's what always killed me about watching him and why I never had the Antoine love


Side note: The Pitino staying up nights story is complete BS. That guy never lost sleep over anyone but himself. I'm sure he cared about Antoine but not that much. I do bet Antoine got a crates worth of "Success is a Choice" books.

 

[redsahx]

 

I can talk about Toine's awesomeness. One day, I went to play golf at Leo J. Martin golf course, with my dad. I am sitting in a golf cart waiting for my dad, and I see  Antoine  walking up the hill toward me, no entourage, just him. He was on his phone, but he gave me the head nod. Since it was only my dad and I, I got put in the same group with him. I am not the worlds biggest Celtics fan, but I do watch on occasion. We took the same cart, and I couldn't believe how down to earth he was. We both sucked equally and I thought it was hilarious that every time, he sliced he would yell "fuck". Playing with him was an absolute blast and after our round, we went back to the clubhouse and he bought everyone lunch, and watch him gun 5 hot dogs, like a champ. I asked him why he was playing on a community course and he laughed and said "have you seen me play?" 
 
A couple of years later, I was at New York Pizza, after a night of drinking at Wally's, and who is there but Antoine, Paul Pierce and this giant entourage.
 
"Hey Luis, how's the game?" said my favorite Celtic.
 
I have followed his downfall, and could see how it could have happened. He just seemed like a kind, generous guy. It sucks.

That is a great story, especially the part about him recognizing you some time later.

I think part of the reason the Garden had such an electric atmosphere during those 2002 and 2003 playoff runs was the way Antoine and Paul established a real connection with the fans and the community, and knew how to play up the crowd. They had perfected the technique long before KG showed up.

To me one of the signature Toine moments was during Game 4 of the Indiana series in 2003 (The game where Pierce went crazy in the 3rd quarter). At one point during their comeback run, Antoine took one of his patented off-balance 3 pointers and nailed it, sending an already delirious crowd through the roof. Indiana immediatley called a time out while Antoine spent a few extra moments running down the sidelines with his hand to his ear acknowledging the crowd. I've gotten to attend some awesome Celtics games over the past decade, but for some reason those 2002-2003 teams stand out as one of the most fun to root for in person, despite their obvious flaws and shortcomings.

 

[ALiveH]

I share some of the fond memories of Antoine, but looking at his B-ref page for the first time in a while and, OMG, for a guy considered a superstar player in his prime, advanced stats HATE antoine walker.
 
But still, some greate memories.

 

[Devizier]

I share some of the fond memories of Antoine, but looking at his B-ref page for the first time in a while and, OMG, for a guy considered a superstar player in his prime, advanced stats HATE antoine walker.

 
Regular stats hated Antoine's game too. I mean, the guy took pull-up three pointers in transition.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Great story about Jonathan Bender who was robbed of his NBA career by chronic knee issues at an early age.

While players such as Antoine Walker, Allen Iverson, and Kenny Anderson have blown NBA fortunes, Bender delved into the business world with much the same vigor as the basketball court, and has turned into a financial maven, earning millions on his business ventures.

Bender earned $30 million during his NBA career but has become the model for post-career prosperity by developing his own back apparatus designed to help joint pain in the shoulders, knees, and back, and rehabilitate chronic soreness.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/09/27/sunhoop/OGR1989Y2h4zX8k9Iy5UDP/story.html