Since retiring from the NBA, Raymond Felton has remained active in the basketball space by serving as a high school coach for his Felton Elite AAU Basketball team, while also expanding into the podcasting space, primarily through his "To The Baha" podcast and other guest appearances.
With his voice, Felton has been keen on helping younger players avoid and fix mistakes he and his peers made throughout their careers. He isn't afraid to tackle a wide range of subjects, including financial struggles, NBA rivalries, coaching failures, players' vices, and many other themes.
Felton himself went through his own difficulties and hardships during his respected career. Most notably, the gun incident during his New York Knicks days derailed the latter half of his NBA journey. Since then, he has learned from his mistakes, apologized for his unprofessional behavior, and decided to help other players with the wisdom he has acquired.
After his legal battle, Felton prolonged his career for a few more years. He remained a professional, kept his head down and worked, managing to save his career. Although he got himself out of a tough situation, he was one of the few players who succeeded in that regard.
A noticeable pattern with many NBA athletes has been their inability to remain professional in the toughest environments, which ultimately led to their downfall.
Players fall into the trap of sudden wealth, popularity and a confidence boost, which changes their perspective on life. After their minutes drop, their performance fluctuates, or they find themselves in a tough situation involving their team, the league is quick to take notice.
"The game goes the way it goes sometimes. Sometimes it don't go in your favour. But you still have to be professional and show them that you can be an asset to the team. Because that's how you get those extra years. That's how you get to play a 10 plus, a 12, 13, 14 [years]. Sometimes even 18, 20," Felton explained on the "Run Your Race" podcast in 2024.
" You can't let your ego get in the way. You let your ego get in the way; that's where your first mistake comes in. All of a sudden, you be looking like, 'Well damn man. Nobody wants to sign me,'" he added.
Early errors in behaviour compound faster than one could realize. The NBA is a business first and if one is not in accordance with it, they will get recycled quickly. As we've seen before, front offices are ruthless with replacing players at the blink of an eye.
Not even All-Stars and superstars are safe in the league. Unless one is at the level of Michael Jordan or LeBron James , they won't be able to act as they wish. Once a player gains a reputation for being lazy, entitled, disrespectful, or uncoachable, talent stops mattering.
"And I hate it when you look at a guy like DeMarcus Cousins . If he would have stayed professional, do what he had to do. And I get it, you an All-Star, you got this ego, you makin' $100 million, like, 'I'm one of the best bigs in this league.' You right. But guess what? You did some stuff. Some things happen off the court, some on the court, that got you in this predicament of why they got this stigma on you," Felton gave an example of DeMarcus Cousins' time with the Sacramento Kings .
Last year's Luka Doncic trade gives a prime example. After numerous battles with the Dallas Mavericks staff regarding his shape and weight, the organization shocked the entire basketball world by shipping their franchise player to the Los Angeles Lakers .
Although Doncic isn't on his way out of the league by any means, it just proves that if the player isn't aligned with the team's demands, they will get humbled quickly. The phasing out part doesn't happen overnight, but rather over time. But if the players don't quickly realize where they went wrong, their careers can take a dramatic turn.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
