You can play basketball professionally for more than 15 years. And many great athletes continue their careers even at 35. But not all basketball players manage to stay in great shape for such a long time. There are stories of athletes who quit at the peak of their careers. And each has his reasons.
The failures of some talents discourage sports betting fans as well. Players can visit cricket betting sites and see that sometimes predictions on outsiders fizzle out better, as favorites often surprise bad players.
Andrew Bynum
The talented basketball player has managed to make appearances for some of the NBA’s top teams in his short career. At the height of his form, Bynum played for the Los Angeles Lakers. He also had a run-in with Kobe Bryan, the superstar of those years.
The basketball player did not like the fact that they had hired an up-and-coming rookie Bynum instead of the big-name Jason Kidd. Kobe soon changed his mind, however, because Andrew has proven to be a masterful player this season.
In the two years Bynum played for the Lakers, he picked up two prestigious awards with the club. The player even managed to participate in the NBA All-Star Game. But then his career took a downturn.
Bynum’s failures
The player changed clubs and moved to Philadelphia. There, Bynum did not get off to a good start. First, an old knee injury took its toll, causing Andrew to miss the entire sporting season. Then his attitude indicated that he was simply disillusioned with his career.
Bynum repeatedly behaved too aggressively on the court. His bowling addiction was the cause of attacks by both club management and the media. In addition, Andrew was constantly choosing creative hairstyles, which further fueled his interest in his person; because of the bright game in his 26 years, he could no longer boast.
Then came a recurring knee injury, and soon Andrew Bynum decided to retire from the sport. The once popular basketball player left at the age of 26, although he could have played for at least another seven years. However, he never regretted the decision.
The real reason for his departure
Bynum’s acquaintances also believed that Andrew was never too obsessed with his profession. He was constantly passionate about anything other than his career as a basketball player. And at the age of 26, along with an injury, his desire to quit the sport took over.
After his career, Bynum took up repair school. He bought up everything from cars to appliances and made upgrades to broken things. The media wrote that “Andrew Bynum has finally found his true calling.”
Marcus Mann
Little is known about this basketball player, and the reason is that his professional basketball career ended rather abruptly. Mann had great promise as a young player. The first team he played for at the semi-professional level was the Community college team. Young Marcus scored more than 20 points every game and grabbed 12 rebounds.
After a splendid two years with Community College, Mann transferred to Mississippi Valley State. He started for his new team similarly, averaging 19 points per game and grabbing 12 rebounds.
He reached his full potential in the conference tournament, where he was voted Most Valuable Player. Thanks in large part to Marcus, the varsity basketball team at Mississippi State University was able to advance to the prestigious March Madness tournament.
When Marcus Mann was graduating, he was offered a promising contract at the age of 22. The player was to be part of the Golden State team and initially even accepted the offer. But the day before the start of the tournament, Mann abruptly changed his mind.
Mann’s new path
Despite a salary of $220,000 per year, Marcus opted not to pursue a career in basketball. Instead, the talented athlete decided to devote himself to ministry in the church.
Marcus Mann is currently a pastor for Baptists.
The promising university player has no regrets about his decision. “I chose the right path,” said Mann in an interview with local newspapers. Since retiring from basketball, he has been a model member of a religious family and, in his spare time, focuses on the spiritual education of the younger generation.
Larry Sanders
This player retired from the NBA at the age of 26. And the reason for this decision was not due to his desire to forget about the sport.
The start of Sanders’ professional career began with the Milwaukee club. The talented basketball player always had a double-double, which allowed him to become a fixture in the main roster in just over a year.
Larry Sanders’ problems
Sanders’ career came to an end almost at the start. After being ranked second in rebounding on the season, Larry had trouble keeping up with his level of responsibility. The basketball player began to suffer from health problems, not only physical ones.
To restore himself to a normal emotional state, Saunders began taking psychotropic drugs. He was also caught taking light drugs. He was eventually expelled from the NBA for marijuana for a year, which was the reason for his subsequent breakdown.
Saunders admitted that he had to use the services of paid clinics. This helped the basketball player cope with his anxiety and depression. In addition, he did not give up basketball but continued to train intensively.
The comeback and the end of his career
Later, Larry tried many things. He was a musician and an artist. But he couldn’t forget about basketball. After treatment and finding himself, Saunders decided to come back. He started playing in semi-professional clubs. And in 2017, the former NBA star decided to return to the association.
But there was no triumph. For his former merits, the basketball player was taken to Cleveland. But he did not manage to stay there for a long time. The player managed to make only five appearances for the club, and then he was expelled again. And after that, Sanders’ career was over for good.
Bison Diehl
The player’s real name is Brian Carson Williams. And at one time, he was one of the most famous basketball players in the NBA. But much of that fame was due not only to his brilliant play but also to the scandals that surrounded Brian throughout most of his career.
Start of his NBA career
Early in his career, Williams played for the clubs Orlando and Denver. There, fans failed to remember him because Bryan performed the tasks of a “working” basketball player. He had a good game but didn’t score more than eight goals with one block and five rebounds.
Next was a contract with the Clippers, where the promising basketball player was able to develop his talent to the fullest. Brian averaged 15 points and seven rebounds a season, plus at least one steal. As a result, Bryan Williams had too much faith in himself, and after a season of playing, he wanted a salary that the Clippers could not provide for him.
Because of his insatiable appetite, Brian was unemployed for a full season. He also admitted at the time that he was suffering from depression. Before Williams, no one had ever spoken publicly about his psychological problems. And he was the first to come out in the open about his depression.
A new turn in Bison Diehl’s career
After a year of downtime, Williams got lucky. The talented basketball player was brought to the attention of the Chicago Bulls front office and was added to the Bulls’ roster. He did not make any big marks there, though.
Carson played in 9 games and was average. Therefore, after the meetings, he soon became one of the substitute players. And that was the reason why he had to change clubs again.
The basketball player’s last games
The last refuge in the NBA for Williams was Detroit. He proved to be quite impressive, and his play in his first season with the new team was outstanding. But then another slump.
Despite his success in Detroit’s first season, the basketball player could not consolidate his results. His teammates began to notice that Carson was acting strangely. But most of them paid little attention to his behavior. And for a good reason.
At 30, with four years left on his contract, the basketball player declared his retirement. The public was shocked because Bryan had no real reason to do so. Yes, he wasn’t shining like he did at the beginning of the season.
But he was a reliable midfielder, and therefore the club’s management was not looking to sell him or rent him out. At the time, he was already calling himself Beason Diehl, and that was the name that stuck in the memory of NBA fans.
Death of an NBA star
Alas, the inglorious end of his career did not bring Dylan happiness. The player soon died under bizarre circumstances. He left on a yacht with his brother and his girlfriend. But only Bison’s brother returned alive from the voyage.
Pretending to be a famous basketball player, the brother of the former NBA star tried to withdraw a large sum of money from his account. But bank staff were vigilant, and the suspicious customer was turned in to the police.
There, Dylan’s brother admitted they had been kidnapped by pirates, and he was the only survivor. Now the pirates are allegedly demanding a ransom for their lives.
The police had a hard time believing his version, but the prosecutor had no proof that it was the brother who had killed the basketball player and his girlfriend. The public thought that Bison Dilla’s vain brother was jealous of his success and had faked the basketball player’s death.