NBA Dreams Shattered by Heroin Addiction

By: Lakeview Health Staff
Published: February 11, 2012

Chris Herren, drafted by the Boston Celtics lost his basketball career to heroin.  Herren was both a high school and collegiate level basketball star. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets and later traded to the Boston Celtics. During his rise to the top he dabbled with using alcohol, cocaine and heroin. While Herren had many opportunities to play basketball in several other countries, his drug addiction was his main priority.

Herren drained his wife’s bank accounts and wound up having tens of thousands of dollars a month heroin addiction.  After almost dying from an overdose, Herren went for heroin addiction treatment to work on his substance abuse addiction and the reasons why he used in the first place. Sober for three years, Herren promotes his sobriety and recovery by encouraging kids to live out their basketball dreams. Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, Inc. is a basketball player development company that he started in 2009. Within his company he educates students in high school about the disease of addiction and promotes a clean and sober lifestyle.