10 NBA Players Banned for Life and Why It Happened

NBA is a highly competitive pro basketball competition, in which players need to be truly focused and disciplined throughout the season. Even the healthiest of players often suffer from injuries or strain during regular season pressure. Apart from that, it takes another level of dedication to stay away from all the distractions like side money-making, gambling, drug addiction, and alcoholism. However, not everyone is able to live up to these standards and eventually lose their place for which they have worked hard.

It might seem like a mistake to them, but the NBA makes sure that such players become an example that the league is not going to compromise on the unethical conduct of the players. If anyone crosses the line regarding the regulations, they will face the consequences from the organization according to the severity of the year rule breach. That's why we have curated a list of the top 10 NBA players who were banned permanently from the league for their respective violations.

10 NBA Players Banned Permanently

There have been many instances in the NBA when the players have been charged with the crime of taking drugs or fixing the games. In recent times, NBA players have even been accused of rigging the games by placing bets on them and supporting gambling. Some of the players have even collaborated and underperformed in a game to help them win a bet. The NBA does not take such matters lightly and suspends these players permanently from the league. Today we will discuss the top 10 players in the NBA who have been banned permanently so far.

#10 Jack Molinas

Jack Molinas tallied 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Fort Wayne Pistons in the 1953 season. He was drafted the same year as the third overall pick. But in a tragic turn of events, he was found to be guilty of gambling by betting against his own team. After his ban from the league, the officials also found Jack involved in the 1961 game-fixing scandals.

The crime world did not let go of Molinas even after he came out of prison, and he was eventually murdered at the age of 43 by a shooter.

#9 Roger Brown

Roger Brown was the ABA star who averaged 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game during the ABA career that had 8 seasons. He was not particularly involved in any scandal or substance abuse, but he was connected to Jack Molinas. He even accepted it on the public platform, and he took some favors from Jack during his college days. That's why he was then banned by the NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy.

He was then taken in by the Indiana Pacers during the ABA days and went on to win three ABA Championships with the squad. Brown was also the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame, whose jersey was then retired by the Pacers.

#8 Gene Melchiorre

Gene Melchiorre was picked up as the first overall pick in the 1951 NBA draft class. The Baltimore Bullets picked Gene after his spectacular performance in the four years of collegiate basketball. However, later came out to the media that he was involved in deliberately underperforming in his college days. During that era, the league was known as BAA. That's why the president of this organization, Maurice Podoloff, then suspended all the players who were part of the scandal.

#7 Chris Washburn

However, Washburn was banned permanently from the NBA in 1989 after he failed three separate drug tests in as many years. The 6' 11'' center averaged only nine minutes per game during his NBA career. Chris was a force to reckon with in his college days with his 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. But his drug addiction cost him a great deal, and he was banned from the league in 1989.

After departing from the league, he even went to prison for his substance abuse. However, he claims to be clean now, and his son is playing in the British basketball league.

#6 John Drew

John Drew was consistent with his performance in the NBA and played for about 11 seasons in the league. Between 1974 and 1985, John played for teams like the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks, averaging 20.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in his whole career. He was a two-time All-Star who started messing with drugs around the 1977–78 season.

In January 1986, the league banned him permanently after it found out that he was admitted to Salt Lake City Hospital due to the use of cocaine for the third time in his life.

#5 Roy Tarpley

Roy Tarpley was a first-round pick in the NBA draft and was selected as the seventh overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks in 1986. He played for the franchise till 1991, and then he got involved with hard-core drugs like cocaine and alcoholism. He was away from the league for three seasons but then returned during the 1994 –95 season and played 55 games. In his whole NBA career, he tallied 12.6 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game.

However, the Mavericks player could not cope with his alcohol addiction, and the league had to ban him in 1995 permanently. After that, he was not seen in the league and passed away in 2015 at the age of 50.

#4 Richard Dumas

Richard Dumas was considered a great prospect for the Phoenix Suns. However, the substance abuse ruined his career, and he couldn't even play in the rookie season in 1991. That's why he debuted in the league in December 1992 and tallied 15.8 points. He also averaged 4.6 rebounds during that season, eventually earning a place on the NBA All-Rookie second team.

He was part of the squad that fought the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA finals. Unfortunately, Dumas' career experienced a decline after that face, and he couldn't recover from the use of drugs in which he was involved. In 1996, the league banned Dumas due to a lack of cooperation from the players in rehabilitation. He once claimed that he had manic bipolar disorder with social anxiety disorder and used to resolve it by drinking six packs of beer before a game.

#3 OJ Mayo

O.J. Mayo was once considered the next LeBron of the NBA generation since he was picked up as the third overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. The Minnesota Timberwolves picked him up, but then he went on to play for the Memphis Grizzlies in four seasons. In his fifth season, he started playing for the Dallas Mavericks and averaged about 15.3 points per game with 40.7 3P%.

From 2013 to 2016, he spent his time in the league playing with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, he could not continue to play in the league since the former USC player was banned from the league for the violation of the NBA's anti-drug policy with many drug test failures. He could have checked again and continued to play for the league after two seasons. But he did not opt to do it and played for international leagues in Taiwan, China, Puerto Rico, Egypt and Russia.

#2 Donald Sterling

Donald might not have played in the NBA as a player but he faced harsh repercussions as a owner of the franchise Los Angeles Clippers. He had made racist remarks in 2014 while talking to his mistress, V. Stiviano. It got leaked and even brought up the discrimination that he used to do against people of color and his players in the league.

Then, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took control of the situation and banned Sterling from the NBA permanently. Along with the ban, the league also fined the ex-Clippers owner with a $2.5 million fine. The franchise was handed over to his wife, Shelly, and then it was bought by the current owner, Steve Ballmer, for $2 billion.

#1 Jontay Porter

Jontay Porter was slammed with a ban by the NBA on April 17, 2024, after the NBA found him guilty of brokering the betting rules through an investigation. It came out as the result of the search that Porter rigged his games by skipping games to favor the bets and giving away covert information to the betters. There was also the revelation that Jontay himself was also part of the betting deals and made his bid on the matches.

It was a breach of the NBA rules, and that's why Commissioner Adam Silver took quick action. According to available info, when Porter used to pass the info from his side, the betting players would bid around $80,000 on the Toronto Raptors player. Eventually, the 24-year-old will not perform as per the expectations since he was rigging the game despite the fact that he was earning over $1 million from the NBA as a salary. He not only underperformed but also reduced his playing time by making excuses and personal bets to make profits.