{"id":669358,"date":"2026-03-20T20:11:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T20:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/669358\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T20:11:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T20:11:27","slug":"former-nba-champion-claimed-hes-broke-drowning-in-debt-and-child-support-post-retirement-ive-been-trying-to-create-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/669358\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NBA Champion claimed he’s broke, drowning in debt and child support post-retirement: “I’ve been trying to create income”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trevor Ariza<\/a>\u00a0was the blueprint for today’s elite 3-and-D wings \u2014 versatile, lethal, and capable of guarding positions one through five while knocking down threes with ease.<\/p>\n

In today’s era, his talents might have made him even richer, yet $116 million across 18 seasons is a legacy few can claim.<\/p>\n

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However, things took a sharp downturn for the 2009 NBA champion after his split from wife Bree Anderson, reportedly leaving him broke and in serious need of financial help.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been exploring deals, trying everything to create income. Nothing stable has come through. Things changed since we finalized this,”\u00a0Ariza\u00a0stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even the NBA pension wouldn’t help much<\/p>\n

The 18-year NBA veteran has been the primary caregiver for their son, Tristan, since late 2023 and the situation worsened after Bree left the marriage with a luxury car, real estate and half of his retirement accounts, yet reportedly\u00a0“refuses to work or contribute financially, despite being able to do so.”<\/p>\n

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It’s not unusual for NBA stars to face financial struggles after a divorce, but just four seasons ago, Ariza was still in the league, earning millions.<\/p>\n

However, having played that long in the best basketball league in the world, Ariza is eligible for a full NBA pension, which he can collect after age 55 at a monthly amount between $12,000 and $15,000. However, given his current financial crisis, he may opt for early retirement.<\/p>\n

If he does, the monthly pension would drop to $8,000\u2013$10,000, which is unlikely to significantly improve his financial situation given the costs of supporting his son, ex-wife and himself.<\/p>\n

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Related: “Boy, if I had the chance to play against you, I would have busted your a\u2014” – Tim Thomas recalls when Larry Bird trash talked him as Pacers coach<\/a><\/p>\n

The situation is complex indeed<\/p>\n

Off the court, the reality is brutal, as reportedly, Ariza hasn’t filed taxes since 2022, is living off shrinking retirement savings, and faces a bank account sitting at negative $230,000. Meanwhile, the value of his properties has tumbled by $4.7 million, leaving him deep in financial turmoil.<\/p>\n

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Even with over $8 million in assets, including cash, stocks, and real estate, his monthly expenses soar past $37,000: a hefty mortgage, groceries, car payments and education costs all add up.<\/p>\n

The harshest reality hits in the form of court mandates \u2013 $28,000 a month for child and spousal support, with no reliable income to cover it.<\/p>\n

For the Dominican-American forward, the current financial turmoil was almost unthinkable because not so long ago, at the peak of his powers, he made a personal choice that cost him over $1 million \u2014\u00a0declining to play in the NBA Bubble so he could be with his son<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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“So when there were options put on the table and one of them was to have some time with my son, I chose my family,”\u00a0Ariza\u00a0said<\/a>.\u00a0“Our youth is our future. Period. If I can’t take the time to teach Tajh the little things that every father teaches their son, then I’m not doing my job. And my job is to be a father before anything else.”<\/p>\n

That $1 million, once a staggering sum, is little more than a drop in the bucket today. Hopefully, it all ends well for the journeyman who helped many teams during his run in the Association.<\/p>\n

Related: “I cannot provide Paul III a life anywhere similar to that of his father” – P.J. Washington’s ex threatened to serve him court papers during a live NBA game<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Basketball Network<\/a> on Mar 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court<\/a> section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trevor Ariza\u00a0was the blueprint for today’s elite 3-and-D wings \u2014 versatile, lethal, and capable of guarding positions one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,36433,85619,6,7531],"class_list":["post-669358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-basketball","tag-bree-anderson","tag-financial-help","tag-nba","tag-trevor-ariza"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116263327605816663","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}