Former NBA player Trey Burke appeared on the Backcourt Connection podcast, where he made a rather shocking claim. When speaking about how difficult it is to make it to the NBA, Burke stated that some superstars have resorted to demonic means on their basketball journeys.
“I just feel like it need to be more respect on the guys who they don’t look at as a so-called superstars,” Burke said. “It’s so much going on, bro, and I don’t even want to get into all that… Some n***a’s bro, some superstars took a different route. I’mma be real. Some superstars took a different route.
“And I ain’t get on here to talk about that much,” Burke added. “But some superstars, some actually come with some demonic s***, some dark s***. You feel me? Some of that s*** like, it get real. So, I appreciate my journey, I appreciate my career, I appreciate my legacy, ’cause I also stood for a lot, and I took a lot of hits for who I was as a person, too.
As far as wild claims go from former NBA players, this might be at the top of the list. Burke didn’t elaborate further on the subject, so there isn’t much to go by here.
As for Burke’s own career, he made a name for himself at Northland High School in Columbus, Ohio. He then made his way to Michigan and was named Naismith National Player of the Year in 2013.
Burke chose to go pro afterward and was selected with the ninth pick of the 2013 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’d never play for the Timberwolves, though, as they traded him to the Utah Jazz on draft night.
Burke had a solid rookie season with the Jazz, averaging 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team and finished third in voting for Rookie of the Year.
Unfortunately, Burke never really took the kind of leap that the Jazz would have hoped. He was made a reserve as time went by and was eventually traded to the Washington Wizards in 2016. He’d go on to play for the New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and Philadelphia 76ers as well.
Burke last played in the NBA for the Mavericks in 2022. They traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September that year, and he was waived a month later. Burke hasn’t been back in the league since, and his NBA career does seem over. In nine seasons, he averaged 9.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game.
Burke has spent time in the G League, Puerto Rico, and China since then. The 33-year-old currently plays for Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico.
