Real Basketball Wives Adjust to NBA Lockout

1 year ago

With the season in question, money is tight

The popular VH1 show Basketball Wives would have you believe that spouses of NBA players occupy their time with petty arguments, excessive drinking, partying and shopping sprees. However, a peek into the lives of current NBA wives laboring through the NBA lockout will reveal a different point of view.

With the first two weeks of the regular season canceled, no positive outcome on the horizon and no steady income in the household, wives of current players must make decisions on how their families will survive this financial drought. Here are a few examples of how real basketball wives Samantha Telfair, wife of seven-year NBA veteran Sebastian Telfair (pictured with their children above) and Danielle Gomes, wife of Ryan Gomes (Los Angeles Clippers, Forward) cope and make ends meet during the NBA lockout.

Take Control

When drafted into the NBA, Sebastian Telfair and his family, a product of the Coney Island projects in New York, received more money than they could ever imagine. Telfair also had a team of financial advisors who handled his finances and paid all his bills. However, with the looming lockout the Telfair’s decided it was time to control their financial destiny.

“One day Sebastian woke up and said ‘You know what, we are going to start paying all our bills.’ We started paying all our bills against our financial advisors advice," says wife Samantha Telfair. "Now we can see what’s going in and out. We were able to cut out a lot of unnecessary costs that way. Oprah said she pays her own bills, so we can do the same."

According to a Sports Illustrated report, 60% of NBA players are broke five years after they retire. Having financial handlers and not knowing where their money is going is part of the problem. Former NBA player Mark Jackson had a business manager who embezzled $2.6 million from him. The same report stated, according to the NFL Players Association, at least 78 players lost a total of more than $42 million between 1999 and 2002 because they trusted money to financial advisers with questionable backgrounds.

Ball on a Budget

Contrary to what basketball wives on television display, most wives are not splurging on Rodeo Drive for the latest handbags. While they aren’t coupon cutting just yet, they must think in more frugal terms especially under the current NBA lockout.