Greatest NBA rags to riches story?

[rsavaj]

Barbosa, Mbenga, Mutumbo

[Apollo33]

Dwyane Wade!

Wade was a decent High school player but nothing out of this world. Only got one scholarship, went there couldn't play due to grades. Once he played his first year, he didn't seems that special, then went on to have a crazy NCAA tourney and drafted by Heat. Most people at the time, didn't think to much of the pick. Now his one of the top 3 players in the game!

Sounds like a cinderella story compared to Mbenga's.

[DEEP3CL]

Gilbert Arenas' mom abandoned him in a crack house, then was raised by his dad who was a struggling, sometimes-homeless actor.

Caron Butler was arrested 15 times before the age of 15, and served a year for coke and guns.


But by far the worst childhood I know of is DJ Mbenga. He grew up in Congo/Zaire in the middle of a war, and his father was a bureacrat for the losing side. Average life expectancy in that country is 47, and 20% of all children die before age 5.

DJ's father was killed by the new regime, and DJ was imprisoned and sentenced to death. His brother bribed a prison guard to let DJ escape and DJ fled to Belgium, where he lived in a homeless shelter until he was discovered by a basketball coach at age 19. Today he's an NBA champion.

This one here........spot on bro. I'm quite sure others have hard life struggles also, but those 3 man that's about as real as it gets. All 3 circumstances could've lead to death for those guys in some form or fashion.

[TiMVP]

Harold Miner!

[BooRadley]

Sounds like Caron Butler was a little punk. Not sure if that's rag to riches. I know plenty of people from the hood who didn't do a year for coke and guns.