San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan allegedly lost over $20 million of his earnings allegedly because of his former financial adviser but the current legal issue will not be a factor in his future decision regarding his playing career.
"Luckily I had a long career and made good money. This is a big chunk, but it's not going to change my life in any way. It's not going to make any decisions for me," Duncan said in a phone interview with Bloomberg.
The 39-year-old has made around $220 million in his career including $10 million last season.
Duncan filed charges against his former adviser Charles Banks in January after he involved the five-time champion in unwanted investments.
The NBA veteran discovered that the losses were from 2005-2013 while undergoing divorce proceedings.
"I trusted someone to do a job that I hired them to do and they misused my trust and went astray and started using my money. I thought, for the most part, I was keeping an eye on things," Duncan said in the interview.
Banks said Duncan lost the money because of a misunderstanding and he was impatient wanting to withdraw from certain investments.
Duncan said regarding his former adviser's claim, "I want people to understand that the statements he made are absolutely incorrect, that he's just trying to make himself look good and save his own image when there's nothing there to save."
"I thought, for the most part, I was keeping an eye on things. You have to have people checking on people checking on people. I did that for a while. Obviously, I got to a point where the people I trusted were checking on themselves," the 15-time All-Star added.
Meanwhile Bank's attorney, Antroy Arreola, said his client found the filing of charges surprising because "Mr. Duncan has no claim against Mr. Banks."
Duncan hoped that what happened to him will be a lesson to younger athletes, Bloomberg reported.
"I'm a loyal guy. I'm a man of my word, and I assumed other people would be that way. That's just not the case in life," Duncan said.
