By ALEX RASKIN, US SPORTS NEWS EDITOR
Published: 17:24 EST, 23 December 2025 | Updated: 17:33 EST, 23 December 2025
Sebastian Telfair, the Brooklyn point guard once touted alongside LeBron James as the future of basketball, was released days early from a federal prison in New Jersey this week after being incarcerated for violating terms of his parole.
Dressed in prison-issued sweats, the 40-year-old was met by a film crew from Antoinette Media.
'You good?' he's asked as he left the Fort Dix FCI facility before turning and addressing the camera.
'We feel good, feel rehabilitated,' said Telfair, the father of a twin boy and girl. 'I did what I had to do, took care of myself. Now let's get back to my babies.'
He had previously asked President Donald Trump for a pardon, but there is no evidence that the White House played any role in his release, which was originally scheduled for December 27.
Telfair was part of a group of former NBA players caught in a healthcare scam and he later pleaded guilty to a single count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and Wire Fraud in 2024. He avoided prison with time served but failed to complete his court-ordered community service and report to his probation officer.
Telfair began his career in Portland, but was traded to Boston within just two seasons
Sebastian Telfair was a McDonald's All-American in high school, but struggled in the NBA
As a result, he was forced to report to prison in August to begin a six-month sentence, during which he was seen reconnecting with disgraced rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs as he began his own four-year term for transportation of prostitution.
A cousin of NBA star Stephon Marbury, the fellow Lincoln High School product was known in basketball circles before he was even a teenager. Like James, he'd go straight to the NBA from high school, but teams had cooled on him somewhat by the time the 2004 draft rolled around.
He'd ultimately be picked 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers, who'd trade him to the Boston Celtics two years later, as Telfair became an NBA nomad bouncing from Minnesota to Los Angeles, Toronto, Phoenix and Oklahoma City before finishing his career in China, as Marbury did before him.
For his 10-year career, Telfair averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 assists per game on 39-percent shooting.
Former NBA player Sebastian Telfair departs after being arraigned in Federal Court in 2021
He was later arrested on weapons and marijuana-related charges during a traffic stop in Brooklyn. Telfair was later convicted of felonious weapons possession.
In 2021, Telfair was included in an indictment against 18 former NBA players accused of defrauding the league's welfare benefit plan.
More recently, he admitted to returning to the Coney Island housing projects where he grew up after squandering the $19 million he made in the NBA.
'I played over 10 years in the NBA and made tens of millions of dollars. I had everything I ever dreamed of,' Telfair said in a YouTube video from Antoinette Media. 'But after a series of legal issues and personal problems, my life has become something I could never imagine.'