Michael Beasley was one of the most promising basketball players in the world when he entered the NBA in 2008.
But, sadly, he never lived up to the hype and admittedly got in his own way again and again.
Beasley is opening up about his bad choices and how he should have listened to Pat Riley, who drafted him to the Miami Heat.
“If I could do it all over again, I would’ve just listened to Pat Riley. Pat told me to get a condo for just my mom and I. I ended up getting a 6 bedroom house, with dogs, homies living there. That’s where my problems came from,” Beasley said.
Michael Beasley on his NBA career:
“If I could do it all over again, I would’ve just listened to Pat Riley. Pat told me to get a condo for just my mom and I. I ended up getting a 6 bedroom house, with dogs, homies living there. That’s where my problems came from.”
(via @Big3) pic.twitter.com/5RHa3ADXAA
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 29, 2025
Beasley was the second overall pick in 2008, and the Heat expected great things from him.
He could have been a franchise centerpiece and one of the best forwards in the league.
But although Beasley had great talent, he didn’t make smart choices, and his off-court decisions started to cause problems.
He spent too much money on the wrong things and didn’t listen to the storied advice of others.
He only spent a couple of seasons with the Heat before he moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he continued to turn down smart insights from people telling him to handle his money better.
He then got a second chance with the Riley and the Heat, but it didn’t last long, and he bounced around the league.
He eventually left the NBA at just 30 years old.
Beasley continued to play overseas but had a tough time making ends meet and even became homeless for a while.
He has been playing in the BIG3 league for the last few years and has found success there.
Thankfully for him, it sounds like life is back on track.
But Beasley knows this road could have been much smoother had he just listened to Riley’s advice in the beginning.
NEXT: Devin Booker Shows Off New Haircut