Former No. 3 Pick Offers Financial Advice To Today's NBA Stars

Shandel Richardson | Feb 8, 2025

12/19/1990; Detroit, Michigan USA; Pistons'' Joe Dumars shoots the ball while being guarded by Bulls' Dennis Hopson ball during a game of the 1990/1991 NBA Season, at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Gonzales -Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Content Services LLC

Former NBA player Dennis Hopson was on the verge of reviving his career.

After winning a championship with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1991, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings. Hopson, the No. 3 pick in the 1987 draft, averaged 10.7 points and felt things were improving.

Then he left the NBA to play overseas.

"I was a young boy and I put my future in the hands of my agent," Hopson told Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "If I could tell a young kid today, you've got to be in charge of your own personal growth. Do not put your future in nobody's hands but yours."

Hopson said he made the mistake of listening to his agent at the time despite former Ohio State teammate Brad Sellers taking him otherwise. Hopson missed out on an extended NBA career because of "greed."

"The Kings wanted to sign me to a one-year deal," Hopson said. "The agent that I had at that time, he wanted a multi-year contract. Brad Sellers was overseas at that time. He's calling me every other day telling me to take the one-year deal because you're going to be unrestricted after that. I think greed set in for my agent. Me as a young boy not knowing any better, I relied upon somebody else to make a decision and it wasn't the best decision to make. Had I stayed and played that year, who knows I could've got an offer sheet from somebody else and it could have gave me another five, 10, 12 years in the league."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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