SMART GUY.......................really a smart guy

During Antoine Walker's 12-year NBA career, he was a three-time All-Star, won an NBA championship and made $108 million.

Two years after playing his final game, Walker filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and had to sell his championship ring.

"I thought I was set for the rest of my life," Walker told CNNMoney. "My story is sad. It's sad to see other guys work so hard throughout their life -- and then they just lose it in two or three years.

"I created a very expensive lifestyle. That's how you lose your wealth real bad at the beginning."

Walker, who faced felony charges in 2009 for writing bad checks to pay for Las Vegas gambling debts of over $800,000, was the subject of a 2014 documentary entitled, "Gone in an Instant: The Antoine Walker Story."

Walker led Kentucky to the 1996 national championship before Boston selected the 6-9 forward sixth overall in the 1996 NBA Draft. His family had little while he grew up in Chicago. Now 38, he told CNNMoney that he had a hard time saying no to family members and childhood friends when they asked for money.

"I gave them whatever they wanted and spoiled them. You can't do that," Walker said. "It ended up being an open ATM throughout my career."

Walker did try to make investments and launched his own real estate firm, which imploded during the 2008 recession. To make matters worse, Walker had also used his personal financial portfolio as collateral and wound up paying back about $20 million to banks.

"We had a ton of undeveloped real estate. It went bad," he said. "The banks wanted their money back."

Walker has slowly climbed his way out of bankruptcy and hopes young professional athletes learn from his cautionary tale. He offered two points of advice: Learn how to say no to friends and family – and use the world a lot – and "live life to the fullest", but think about the future.