He entertained models and made $94 million doing almost nothing. Parsons’ fabulous luck

Chandler Parsons’ basketball playing career is over, despite the NBA player’s not yet veteran age: the forward is only 33, which for quite a few players is a time, if not of peak form, but not yet of decline. But Parsons’ career was derailed by injuries. However, it’s not just them. At the end of his career, the player had played one hundred games in four years with simply disastrous statistics for a player with maximum contract value. Parsons recently announced the end of his career. According to the official version, injuries forced the athlete to quit basketball. But by and large, he’s been tremendously lucky.

Start of basketball career

Parsons started his professional basketball career as one of the most promising rookies. At the age of 23, he played very successfully for the Houston Rockets. He played in 162 games for the Rockets, making every appearance in the starting lineup. The most productive season for the athlete was 2013-2014, when he finished the game with an average of 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. After the Houston Rockets, the promising forward moved to the Mavericks.

And on that team, Chandler gradually began to decline. Injuries plagued him. Two seasons ended prematurely due to surgery on his right knee. In 2016, Parsons was again a free agent. Along with a streak of colossal bad luck on the court, he began a streak of financial good fortune. Memphis wanted the player in its roster.

That coincided with a major upward revision of NBA player salaries. Parsons didn’t fail to take advantage of it. His contract with Memphis cost the club as much as possible: the club paid $94 million for the player’s four years on its roster. And Parsons made his team famous. Admittedly, he wasn’t famous for his performance on the court, but for the fact that his contract was deemed one of the most unprofitable in NBA history.

Injuries or laziness to blame?

The player wasn’t just underperforming. He was performing at a subpar level. Admittedly, injuries were partly to blame. Because of his health, Parsons was unable to perform at his best during preseason and missed regular games.

And his performance was consistently zero. Therefore, in the 2018-2019 season, the team “decorated” the bench with an expensive forward. After a while, the team sent him to Atlanta. Parsons’ period with that club was not just the shortest of his career, but even deserves a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Parsons only played 54 minutes for Atlanta.

And to finish his career the player was forced after in January 2020 received severe injuries in an accident. In the car returning from a training session Parsons hit another car, the driver of which was drunk. Three weeks after the accident, the Atlanta club announced the termination of Parsons’ contract.   

Parsons retires from basketball

But it was not definitively known until recently whether the player would continue his career. It wasn’t until January 18, 2022 that Parsons announced his retirement from basketball.

Were it not for numerous injuries, the player could well be considered a dabbler of fortune. Never having lived up to the expectations placed on him, he was making huge sums of money, was known as a bon vivant, and loved partying in the society of models. His personal life during the active phase of his career was tumultuous and he was often the focus of social media attention. But now the ex-basketballer is getting used to being a family man: recently, his cosmetologist companion Hayley Harrison gave birth to Parsons’ daughter.