Billy McGill: Over the Hill, In the Valley, and Rising Up Again, 1977

McGill was back on the street. He called Walter Kennedy, then the NBA commissioner, asking whether he had any pension funds due him. He did not; he had not played long enough. “I called collect,” he said, “and I had to look around for a dime.

Rick Barry: Tales of a Happy Warrior, 1974

“I had commitments to Franklin Mieuli and the Warriors,” recalls Barry, “and also to Roy Boe and the Nets. It was a difficult situation to be in.”

Cyril Baptiste: The Destruction of a $450,00 Basketball Player, 1973

“He could never conquer the demons,” Baptiste’s mentor and coach Leroy Floyd reflected on his life. “He always gave people good advice, but he didn’t always take it himself.”