Sebastian Telfair Lincoln High School
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While it may seem crazy to some, at one point during his prep career, LeBron James was not the most famous high school basketball player in the country.
Instead, that honor went to New York City superstar Sebastian Telfair, who became both a local and national star at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.
Telfair, the cousin of NBA star Stephon Marbury, had superstars such as Jay-Z and Mos Def coming to his high school games. He was named Mr. Basketball USA, New York Mr. Basketball, and the McDonald’s All-American Game MVP.
Initially, Telfair committed to the University of Louisville. But he ultimately declared for the 2004 NBA Draft and was selected 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Unfortunately, things never clicked for Telfair as a pro. Across 10 seasons, he played for the Blazers, Celtics, Timberwolves (twice), Clippers, Cavaliers, Suns, Raptors, and Thunder. He also had stints with Tianjin Ronggang, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, and the Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Times Have Been Hard For Sebastian Telfair
Telfair earned nearly $19 million in the NBA. But since retiring, he’s fallen on hard times. In June, he was sentenced to prison after being one of 18 former NBA players who were arrested for fraud in 2021.
He would have avoided prison; however, he failed to meet the terms of his supervised release, including completing court-ordered community service and reporting to the U.S. Probation Office.
Telfair recently reported to prison, but before doing so, he gave people a look behind the scenes at what his life looks like these days. Most notably, Telfair is back living in the same housing projects he grew up in in Brooklyn.
“Coming back to the projects was a gift and a curse, but more of a gift if I’m being honest,” Tefair said.
He explained how a divorce and legal troubles had stripped him of any significant money he made in the NBA, and how the goal is now to make back out of the projects in the way that he did the first time around.
While it’s a sad situation, it does seem as if Telfair has developed some serious perspective. Here’s hoping he can use that perspective to dig his way back out.