Former NBA Star Vin Baker Now Working at Starbucks? Details Here!

There was a time when Vin Baker was one of the best forwards the NBA had.

This was way back between 1993 to 1998 during his stints with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Seattle Supersonics.

To his credit, Baker has been a perennial figure in the NBA All Star game and was feted with the year-end NBA team selections (Third team in 1997 and Second Team in 1998).

Except perhaps for a few people who know their NBA bible well, Baker’s tale is a story of how vices can ruin a promising athlete’s career.

The eighth overall 1993 NBA Draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks put up decent numbers in the early years of his career until he fell prey to the dreaded disease called alcoholism.

Baker became overweight as he tried to get past the sorry episode of his career.

Unfortunately, the All Star center-forward was never able to recover.

His decline came as he was starting his career off with the Boston Celtics. It was apparent at the time that Baker has not totally gotten past his alcohol addiction.

He was given multiple chances to prove is worth with New York, Houston, Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves

Baker was never able to regain his old self after being released by the Timberwolves, a season where he didn’t even see action in a single game.

It was all downhill from there. Baker got arrested for drunk driving in 2007 and saw his home lost to foreclosure the year after (2008).

In short, Baker practically lost everything due to alcoholism though he continues to try and keep his head above water.

The latest word on Baker is that he is training to be a Starbucks manager.

And when chanced upon by people who are still familiar with him, Baker shared the opportunities he took for granted.

He offered some friendly advice to the upcoming young players in an interview from the Providence Journal:

“When you make choices and decisions and think that it will never end, and then you get into spending and addiction and more spending, it’s a definite formula for losing…"

"I would insist that you surround yourself with the person you trust the absolute most, someone who can tell you, ‘You’re wrong, don’t buy that, don’t go there, that person’s no good.'"

Aside from being a trainee, Baker also serves as a minister for a church.

And while reforming may be a bit tad late, he intends to do the next best thing – make himself as an example for younger people to make sure that they don’t fall into the same pit.