The Los Angeles Clippers' Patrick Beverley, who's from Chicago, said if it wasn't for hoops he would've been a terrific drug dealer.
"I probably would've been the best drug dealer in the world," he told ESPN.
Beverley was suspended from the University of Arkansas basketball team in his junior year for plagiarism. He then had to make a major decision once back in Chicago: Hit the streets or keep hitting the gym and chase a professional hoop career. He had a 2-year-old son at the time and his daughter was just born.
“Mouths need to be fed," said Beverley. “Coming from where I come from, I didn't have the luxury of having a trust fund, or money from generations, or the luxury of hopping into the family business. It's either hoop or you sell dope.”
When Beverley's good friend and his little brother were killed, he made his choice and flew over to Ukraine to start his hoop career.
“I'm going to play basketball and not be in his shoes," Beverley explained. “I don't know sacrificial lambs and all that. And of course, I don't compare him to a lamb, but his sacrifice kind of woke up our family. It forced me to go hustle the right way."