Latrell Fontaine Sprewell, born September 8, 1970, played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. During his time as a professional, Sprewell was named to the annual NBA All-Star game four times; he also helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals and the Timberwolves the Western Conference finals.
During that regular season, Sprewell became part of the league's highest-scoring trio, alongside Kevin Garnett and point guard Sam Cassell. Sprewell helped the team earn the first seed in the Western Conference playoffs, but Minnesota's franchise-record playoff run drew to an end when they were defeated by the Lakers in 6 games in the Western Conference Finals. Sprewell finished second in team scoring, pacing at 19.9 ppg behind Garnett's 24.0 ppg.
On October 31, 2004, the Minnesota Timberwolves offered Sprewell a 3-year, $21 million contract extension, substantially less than what his then-current contract paid him. Claiming to feel insulted by the offer, he publicly expressed outrage, declaring, "I have a family to feed ... If Glen Taylor wants to see my family fed, he better cough up some money. Otherwise, you're going to see these kids in one of those Sally Struthers commercials soon." He declined the extension, and, having once more drawn the ire of fans and sports media, had the worst season of his career in the final year of his contract. In the summer of 2005, the Nuggets, Cavs, and Rockets all expressed interest in signing Latrell Sprewell, but no agreements were reached.
Despite his accomplishments, his career was overshadowed by a 1997 incident in which he choked coach P. J. Carlesimo during a practice, which ultimately resulted in a 68-game suspension.
