On the basketball court, Kenny Anderson took opponents to school, metaphorically speaking. Over the past few years, he’s been taking himself to the real thing, or at least logging into school from Starbucks.
On Saturday, the 39-year-old court legend will graduate after completing an online program at St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla. The happy day will come two decades after Anderson skipped Georgia Tech for the NBA after his sophomore season.
“I didn’t know if I could handle it,” Anderson told The New York Times of hitting the books in middle age. “I didn’t use my brain for 20 years.”
That might be an understatement.
In a tale far from unique among NBA stars, Anderson burnt through the $63 million he amassed in salary over his 14 years in the NBA. A good portion went to child support for his seven children with five different women. Plenty more went into cars (at one time, he had 10 or 11) and “hanging out,” according to a 1998 article in the New York Times. Even more was spent on those he held dear to his heart. He bought his mom a home after being selected by the New Jersey Nets with the number two pick in the 1991 draft. In the next few years he started a business to employ his childhood friends, and sprinkled cash all over his old neighborhood of LeFrak City, Queens. In 1998 he handed out 400 turkeys a few blocks away from where he grew up.
“I was generous,” Anderson told the Washington Post last year. “I didn’t say no. I used to have it bad, people calling me, crying. I used to be like, ‘Aw, damn, man.’ They were struggling. It’s hard. My accountants, they were like: ‘No!’ I’d be like, ‘But they’re getting ready to get thrown out of their house!’ So I helped.”
In 2005, the only New York high school player to be named all-city for four straight years filed for bankruptcy.
A few days ago, you would have found Anderson studying at Starbucks in Pembroke Pines, Fla., where he now lives with his wife Natasha, her daughter Tiana, and his son Ken Jr. On Saturday, you can find him in cap and gown just a few short miles away. Not even Kenny knows where he’ll be after that. Wherever it is, this once and future all-star can handle it.
Photo via NBA.com.