Divorce is one of an NBA player's worst nightmares. That's because during the settlement, he will have to surrender one-half of what he worked so hard for to his wife, not to mention child and spousal support.
But the 50-50 rule is not a universal rule, but is a mere starting point. It could go downhill from there. That's what happened to 2016 NBA champion Iman Shumpert , who, after the court proceedings, received only roughly $2 million from the asset split, compared to $25 million for his ex-wife, actress Teyana Taylor. According to Stephen A. Smith , what happened to Shumpert could make men think twice about getting married.
"Marriage definitely failed him," Smith said of Shumpert. "I do not blame Iman Shumpert if he never again in life say 'I do.' That is devastating. Here is why. I don't know what happened; I don't know why they broke up. But that is not only your husband. That is the father of your kids. I have no problem if stuff was split down the middle. But to make out like a bandit to that extreme, you get $25 million, and he gets two? You got the Maybachs, the Sprinter, the homes, and he gets a home? It's like the system failed."
Shumpert met Taylor in 2011, when she was dating someone else. His persistence paid off as three years later, they came out as a couple during Shump's 24th birthday. The following year, Teyana was pregnant with their first child, and in 2016, they finally got hitched.
However, after seven years, they separated, and Taylor filed for divorce in 2023. The divorce was finalized in a Fulton County, Georgia, court in 2024. And as Shumpert recently revealed, the court-ordered split of assets was so one-sided that he said he will never remarry again.
Per Iman, Teyana received $10 million in cash, four houses worth an estimated $10 million, a Maybach, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, and a touring bus. Overall, her share was valued at $25 million, dwarfing the $2 million the judge awarded to the former NBA guard.
Stephen A. says men will not only think twice, but also think harder, before getting married after seeing what happened to Iman.
"If women don't start speaking up on the discrepancy in the system, a whole bunch of dudes are never going to get married. And it's not going to have something to do with them loving you or wanting you, it's going to have to do with them being petrified that if things don't work out, they're going to get taken to the cleaners by the court," he added.
Smith went on to argue that while it wasn't Taylor's fault that she got more, she had the option to take only what was just, which was half, because Iman did his part in the marriage and trusted her with his full finances.
"That man was your husband, the father of your kids," Smith continued. "My god, that is the epitome of emasculation. She may not have done it. But her lawyers did it. The system did it. For that to be a discrepancy is 25 to 2. What about 13 and a half and 13 and a half?"
"If things change, they change. How about you saying, 'I know what the court said, but here's half.' You could've done that because yeah, the court awarded me this, Teyana or to my lawyer, 'Take about 10 to 12 million out of there and give it to him because he's going to use that for our children. Think about what he did already," he added.
Not only did Shumpert get only $2 million, but he also ended up without a house. Luckily, he is a good basketball analyst; he now works for ESPN and was recently announced as a co-host of the revamped Gil's Arena.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
