Jaden Ivey has been getting a whole lot off his chest lately and has landed himself in hot water as a result. Ivey made anti-LGBTQ comments on Instagram on Monday and was promptly waived by the Chicago Bulls later that day.
If anyone thought Ivey was going to keep his mouth shut after losing his job, they were mistaken. The 24-year-old went live on Instagram again and fired shots at the Bulls for claiming they waived him for conduct detrimental to the team. Then, later on in that video, Ivey made some admissions about himself.
“The NBA was everything to me,” Ivey said. “I didn’t know God. I didn’t know Jesus when I came to the NBA. I was a fornicator, I was a pornography addict, and I used to get drunk. That’s all I knew. And after a win, I felt good. After all those points, I felt good. I felt like I had everything set out for me.
“But as soon as that shut down for me, as soon as I didn’t start, that’s when God was humbling me,” Ivey continued. “He sat me down for a reason.”
Jaden Ivey with a concerning message on his IG live:
“The NBA was everything to me. I didn’t know god. When I came to the NBA I was a fornicator, I was a p*rn addict and I use to get drunk. That’s all I knew. After all those points I felt good… I felt like everything was set… pic.twitter.com/mcFqI9qlMj
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) March 31, 2026
Ivey entered the league after the Detroit Pistons selected him with the fifth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He’d spend three and a half seasons with the Pistons and had been outspoken about his religious beliefs back then as well. It just wasn’t to this extent, though.
Over the weekend, Ivey sparked concerns by claiming Catholicism is a “false religion.” Then came the anti-LGBTQ comments on Monday as he called out the NBA over Pride Month.
Ivey said the league celebrates unrighteousness, and you knew there was a very good chance the Bulls were going to cut ties after that. They had only acquired him from the Pistons in February, and he’d only played four games, but they still parted ways right away.
As for this latest video, Ivey slammed Stephen Curry in it as well. He claimed Curry does not know Jesus, and all the championships he and LeBron James have won don’t matter. Ivey also said that winning titles was once one of his goals, but not anymore.
“When I came into the league, all I wanted to do was win championships and get millions of bucks, get that next contract, get all them cars, that’s all I wanted,” Ivey said, via New York Basketball. “When I came into the league, that’s all I wanted, until the Lord showed me. What good is it to gain the world you’re forfeiting your soul? What good is it to not follow the Lord, to not obey his commandments?”
Ivey doubts any NBA team is going to sign him now. He thinks they’re all going to say he’s too religious and keep him out.
Former NBA player Nick Young believes Ivey will be blackballed, but not for religious reasons. Young says going after Curry is the real reason why he’ll be kept out.
This is just a wild situation, all in all. Ivey does come across as someone who needs help, but it’s clear he doesn’t feel that way.
