Bob Sura played 10 seasons in the NBA, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, which left him with a lot of memories and stories to tell.
One of his good NBA stories happened during his rookie season in 1995 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It involved a drinking session he had with veteran Dan Majerle, which got them in trouble with their coach, Mike Fratello.
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The former Florida State standout shared what happened on his appearance on the “GOLF’s Subpar” podcast, highlighting how it was a learning experience for him.
“So, this is a great NBA story. So, back then, unlike now, coaches in the NBA hated rookies, right? And we had Mike Fratello as coach. Dan just got traded there as a [three-time] All-Star, [Phoenix] Suns legend, all that stuff. So, I’m under his wing and he’s like, ‘We’re in Boston, let’s go out for dinner.’ So, we went out for dinner. We have a few cocktails. We do have a game the next day,” Sura said.
“A few cocktails led to a few more cocktails. And then we ended up in this bar called Daisy’s, a very famous NBA bar back in Boston at the time… Dan and I proceeded to keep drinking. And it’s 2:30, 3:00 in the morning. I’m like, ‘Dan, we got to play tomorrow.’ He’s like, ‘You’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.’ So another hour goes by. I’m like, ‘Dan, we really got to go.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re right. It is getting late,'” he added.
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Busted by the coach
As they were walking out of the bar they walked straight into coach Fratello, who was already aware that they were there until the wee hours. But instead of acknowledging their coach, they looked the other way as if nothing happened.
Game day, they played and both had a bad outing, seeing their team lose by a big margin.
“Dan played horrendous in the game, right? I get in the game, make two, three turnovers, yanks me out, whatever. We get blown out by 20,” he shared.
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“So the game’s over. In the locker room, coach said, ‘I just want everybody to know that a couple guys in this locker room let us down last night. Dan Majerle and Bob Sura were coming out of a bar at four in the morning smelling like alcohol and they are the reason we lost.’ So, it was a very bad deal. I learned my lesson,” Sura added.
Sura played on
Sura and Majerle were teammates only for one season as the latter was traded to the Miami Heat in 1996. For Sura, he continued to play in Cleveland for five seasons, establishing himself as a solid rotation guy, finishing his career in The Land with norms of 8.1 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds.
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After Cleveland, Sura moved to the Golden State Warriors and played there for three seasons, stopping for a season each with the Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets after.
Sura has largely stayed away from basketball following his NBA career and has been an active poker player competing in various tournaments, including the World Series of Poker.
The NBA journey of Sura may not have lasted too long and was not as celebrated as the others in his draft class, but it was apparently eventful in more ways than one.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.