Talent was never in question when it came to Michael Beasley. Standing 6’9″ with an uncanny knack for scoring, the left-handed forward had all the tools to make it big in the NBA. However, his maturity level and decision-making left a lot to be desired, which is a significant reason why he played his last game in the big league at age 30.
If anyone needed any more proof of why the second pick of the 2008 NBA Draft (he was selected ahead of Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook) played for seven teams in his 11-year career, he recently shared his perspective of the infamous incident involving him and then-rookies Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur that got them kicked out of the league’s Rookie Transition Camp in 2008.
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Beasley got tempted by the weed
Beasley talked about the infamous incident during his appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast with former NBA veterans Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. He shared that he was spending time with his girlfriend at that time when Chalmers, his teammate on the Miami Heat, called to let him know that some women who had weed with them were heading to the hotel.
While Beasley wanted no part of the women, he, however, hadn’t smoked in a few days and wanted to unwind a little bit.
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“I was like, ‘F—k it, I’mma go. I’mma go.’ You understand? Go hit the jane. Up until this point, I got drafted in June — this game is September. I’d been smoking good for like three, four months now, by the ounces, three ounces at a time,” he recalled.
Beasley’s mind, though, shifted the moment the women arrived. Apparently, he thought better than to mess with what weed the women brought and decided he was better off getting out of there.
As he reached for the doorknob, a loud knock echoed from outside, accompanied by muffled voices. He looked through the peephole to see what was happening and realized the authorities were there to investigate what they were doing inside that room.
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“Everybody in the NBA that was at the camp at the door behind them, hotel security behind them — like I felt like I was in a Marvel movie,” Beasley shared. “Police behind them, firemen. So I go to the door, I go back to them and say, ‘Yo, this s—t going down.'”
He thought about jumping out the window
With authorities a mere seconds away from busting through the door, everyone panicked, including Beasley, who admitted that the first thing he thought about doing to escape the brouhaha was to jump out the window.
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“I was about to jump out, but we was on the third floor,” Beasley remembered. “I’m thinking in my mind, on some adrenaline, I can make it. But last thing I need is missing the season on top of a broken leg on top of this s—t.”
He recalled how the situation devolved into every man for himself; Chalmers tried to hide under the bed while Arthur planned to sneak into the shower. Eventually, the authorities all barged in and broke the proceedings up. Fortunately, he was able to find a suitable hiding spot by sitting on the safe inside a closet. As the minutes turned to hours, the NBA officials and law enforcement officials all left, much to Beasley’s relief.
The worst, though, had yet to come. The next day, the NBA’s commissioner at that time, David Stern, called Chalmers and Arthur out for their misbehavior.
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“The next day, David Stern at the front of the podium,” Beasley disclosed. “They kicked them out immediately — ‘Get the f—k up out of here.’ David Stern kicking these MFs out.”
Beasley didn’t escape the long arms of the law, as he also drew a hefty $50,000 fine for his involvement in the fracas. The incident irrevocably tarnished his reputation. Despite his innate basketball talent, Beasley struggled to secure a lasting place in the NBA, frequently being branded a troublemaker.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.