Former Miami Heat big man Amar’e Stoudemire is apparently in trouble with the law, as a report of him being arrested recently surfaced.
It seems that the six-time NBA All-Star was in Miami after accomplishing a huge milestone, graduating from the University of Miami with a master’s degree. However, he allegedly punched and slapped his daughter just hours after.
It is quite an unfortunate turn of events for the Stoudemire family. If Andy Slater’s report is accurate, it doesn’t paint a good picture of the former NBA player.
Stoudemire entered the NBA in 2002 after the Phoenix Suns selected him with the No. 9 pick in that year’s draft. He was the only high school player to be chosen in the first round of the 2002 draft.
The 6-foot-10 player had an eight-year tenure with Phoenix. He helped the franchise become a playoff contender nearly every year he was there. Ultimately, the furthest he and the Suns went together was the Western Conference Finals.
After becoming an unrestricted free agent in the 2010 offseason, Stoudemire left Phoenix for the New York Knicks. He ended his time with the Suns with averages of 21.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game on 54.4 percent shooting.
While his debut season for the Knicks was productive, the remainder of his tenure with the team featured some injury-plagued seasons. In the middle of the 2014-15 season, Stoudemire agreed to a buyout with the Knicks. He played the remainder of the campaign with the Dallas Mavericks.
The following season turned out to be his last in the NBA. Stoudemire spent it with the Heat, playing in 52 games for Miami and starting 36 of them in the 2015-16 campaign.
In the 2016 offseason, he retired from the NBA after 14 seasons. However, he wasn’t done with the sport, as he had stints in other basketball leagues in the following years.
Stoudemire made a return to the NBA as a player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets from 2020 to 2022, leaving the organization after the 2021-22 campaign.