By DANIEL MATTHEWS, US SENIOR SPORTS WRITER and ALEX RASKIN, US SPORTS NEWS EDITOR
Published: 15:23 EST, 24 December 2025 | Updated: 15:31 EST, 24 December 2025
Former NBA player Sebastian Telfair has lifted the lid on life behind bars alongside Diddy, insisting that the disgraced hip-hop mogul is 'in good spirits.'
The 40-year-old, who was once touted alongside LeBron James as the future of basketball, finished a six-month sentence shortly before Christmas at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey.
Among the other inmates at the low-security federal prison is Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who is serving more than four years behind bars after being convicted of prostitution offenses.
Last month, Diddy was allegedly caught drinking homemade prison moonshine despite insisting to a judge that he is sober. Reports said he was caught withalcohol made from Fanta, sugar and apples, which had been left to ferment for weeks.
He was recently spotted alongside Telfair, who had been jailed forviolating the conditions of his supervised release in relation to a fraud conviction.
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.
Former NBA player Sebastian Telfair has lifted the lid on life behind bars alongside Diddy
Sean Combs' lawyers have filed an appeal to overturn his conviction for prostitution offenses
He avoided prison with time served but failed to complete his court-ordered community service and report to his probation officer.
Just hours after his release, Telfair spoke to TMZ about his time in prison. 'My boy Diddy is in a spot too. I couldn't imagine how he feels,' he said.
'Diddy is holding it down. He's doing what he has to do and where he is at, they're going to help him. So he's going out clean.
'We all know Diddy's business because we got to see everything... Diddy was living rock star life so I'm glad he's going to get the time to relax and - as my boys would say on the inside - this is some time for yourself.
'So that's what he's getting right now... Diddy is in good spirits, he's still Diddy.'
Combs is hoping for his own Christmas miracle after his lawyers filed an appeal to overturn his conviction.
The lawyers said in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that Combs was treated harshly at sentencing by a federal judge who let evidence surrounding charges he was acquitted of unjustly influence the punishment.
Combs is currently scheduled for release in May 2028.
In a trial that ended in July, the rapper was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, but was convicted under the Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.
Telfair began his career in Portland, but was traded to Boston within just two seasons
Lawyers for Combs said Judge Arun Subramanian acted like a 'thirteenth juror' in October when he sentenced Combs to four years and two months in prison.
Telfair, meanwhile, revealed he has agreed to return to basketball through Big3 - a three-on-three league founded by hip-hop icon Ice Cube - claiming it will earn him 'a couple of hundred thousand' dollars.
'The contract is signed, I'm coming for the MVP,' he told TMZ.
Telfair 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.
'I 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.'
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