At one point, Willie Cauley-Stein was the kind of player most teams would be willing to give up a lot for. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 Draft was a 7-footer with elite athleticism and physicality to get easy buckets in the paint.
In his early seasons in the league, Cauley-Stein looked to be the promising player the Sacramento Kings had drafted and he increased his averages each season, highlighted by his third season, when he tallied 13.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
However, as his career progressed, WCS never developed into the player many expected him to be . Now, at 32, he looked back at his career with regret. Speaking on the "Out the Mud" podcast, Cauley-Stein revealed the mistakes he made that led him to the financial situation he's in today, at which point his house was foreclosed.
Cauley-Stein entered the league when players were just starting to realize the importance of investing their earnings. Not many people, including himself, had networking as one of their priorities, something that he deeply regrets not doing.
"I think being a politician," Cauley-Stein said when asked what his biggest regret was. When we talk about the business of basketball, I was a hooper, I wasn't a businessman.
"I think that's like the most thing I regret, is not like staying at them little parties that they do, talking to them. Talking to the people," he continued. 'Cause now, we kind of in a position where I need those people. I need those relationships."
Nowadays, locker rooms are littered with networking opportunities, as many players today help each other maximize their wealth for their futures to avoid the same fate as previous generations.
Unfortunately for Cauley-Stein, he fell into the same traps as former players who prioritized maintaining their luxurious lifestyles over investing. He earned well over $25 million over his seven years in the league, but didn't capitalize on protecting it for his future until it was too late.
"There's people along the way that I spent a lot of time with, smoking in hotel rooms, f—ing just going out to eat, like being around, sharing that time with them. Those are the things that you miss, too. Cultivating those relationships to set yourself up and your family up after it's gone," he said.
"I'm prime, 32, should still be playing in there, right? My house is foreclosed on. I'm living month-to-month. And that s—t matters," Cauley-Stein continued.
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Besides his failure to invest and network around the league, another reason for Cauley-Stein's finances and career not reaching a downward spiral was also due to his mental health and addiction problems . He has opened up in the past about his substance abuse problems that started in 2019, when one of his friends was killed.
His addiction worsened until he went to rehab in 2021 after his grandmother passed away due to bone cancer. He later realized that the Percocet pills he was hooked on were laced with Fentanyl.
At that point in his career, Cauley-Stein was playing for the Dallas Mavericks after leaving Sacramento, where he felt betrayed and Golden State. He had regressed significantly, posting 1.9 points per game before he was released after a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers
Ultimately, it was a blend of Cauley-Stein not seeking and taking advantage of the networking opportunities in the league, as well as his addiction, that eventually led to his career bottoming out. He is more than aware of the reality of his career and couldn't do anything but look back with regret.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Aug 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
