Former NBA player Sebastian Telfair reveals he moved back to the Coney Island projects he grew up in before he was put behind bars on Aug. 12, 2025. In the first episode of his documentary, Sebastian Telfair: Final Days Of Freedom, Telfair spoke about losing the millions he made, which forced him to move to the projects.
“The day I picked up a basketball was the day I was for sure knowing I was going to make it out,” Telfair said. “After being the No. 1 player in New York City history, I turned that dream into a reality. I played over 10 years in the NBA and made tens of millions of dollars. I had everything I ever dreamed of.
“But after a series of legal issues and personal problems,” Telfair continued. “My life has become something I could never imagine. I’m right back to where it all began. Back in Coney Island, back in the projects, back in the fire.”
Telfair seemingly had the world in the palm of his hands when he was starring for Abraham Lincoln High School. He was one of the highest-rated prospects in the country at the time and initially committed to the University of Louisville.
Telfair later changed his mind, however, and directly entered the NBA out of high school in 2004. The Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the 13th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, but he never quite lived up to all that hype.
Telfair never even made an All-Star team, but he played 10 seasons in the NBA and, according to Spotrac, made about $19 million in salaries. He managed to lose it all, though.
“When I was in the NBA, making the money, doing what I love to do, I always thought that my life would continue to go up and I would just have a sweet retirement and be able to raise my kids,” Telfair stated. “And [if] somebody told me I was going to end up back in the project, I would have never believed anyone, not for one minute.
“End up getting locked up in 2017, licensed firearms and all that BS,” Telfair added. “… Fighting the feds and my divorce affected my finances. Now I got to run around broke.”
Samantha Telfair had filed for divorce back in 2019, citing irreconcilable differences. Telfair’s finances took a big hit then, and also when he found himself in trouble with the authorities.
Telfair was first arrested in April 2007 and charged with felony possession of a weapon after a loaded handgun was found in his car during a traffic stop. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in 2008 and received three years’ probation.
Then, 10 years later, in June 2017, Telfair was arrested on weapons and marijuana related charges during a traffic stop. A lit joint and three loaded handguns were found in his vehicle then.
Telfair was found guilty of felonious weapons possession and was sentenced to prison for three and a half years. His conviction, though, was later overturned by the New York Court of Appeals in November 2023.
While this was going on, Telfair also became one of 18 NBA players arrested for defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan out of approximately $4 million. It was alleged that they submitted fraudulent claims to obtain reimbursement for medical expenses they never actually incurred.
Telfair pled guilty to the fraud charges in March 2023 and was sentenced to three years’ probation. In August 2025, however, he was ordered to serve six months in prison for failing to fulfill his court-ordered community service and for failing to report to the U.S. Probation Office.
Telfair begged U.S. President Donald Trump for a pardon, but it wasn’t to be. The 40-year-old is now at FCI Fort Dix federal prison in New Jersey.
