Chris Herren | From Basketball Prodigy to Full-Blown Drug Addict to Recovery Advocate, Motivational Speaker & Founder of The Herren Project & Herren Wellness

<p>Chris’s love of basketball was forced on him in his childhood.  It was a very competitive household.  His brother was s very successful basketball star in high school, and Chris found himself following in his footsteps.  His father was an alcoholic, and Chris feels he inherited this troublesome trait.</p> <p>Chris Herren had a storied career in basketball.  He loved the culture of basketball & performing, but he didn’t truly see this as a passion in his life. In his senior year, Herren was named the Boston Globe and Gatorade Player of the Year. He also was named to the McDonald's All-America Team.  He went to Boston College in 1994, where he failed multiple drug tests for marijuana & cocaine, which led to him being kicked out of college and the team.  He then transferred to Fresno State under coach Jerry Tarkanian.  Chris says that the first four years at Fresno State were his career-defining years.  He was at his best during that time but eventually fell back into his old habits.</p> <p>When Herren made it to the NBA, he eventually made his way back to Boston to play for the Celtics.  This is when his drug use hit its peak.  He also started to increase his painkiller use with pills like OxyContin, Vicodin & Percocet.  During playing abroad in Italy, he tried heroin for the first time.  He would play for NBA teams abroad in places like Iran, where the punishment for heroin usage and sale is death, and yet he would still take that risk to get high.</p> <p>He says looking back now that he was actually in worse shape during the season because the money he was getting paid at the time all went to drug use.   It hit a new low for Chris in 2007, he was charged with possession of heroin in the parking lot of a Dunkin' Donuts.  A year later, Herren overdosed on heroin and crashed into a utility pole. According to paramedics, he was allegedly dead for thirty seconds.  A lot of people in Chris’ life at this point tried to get Chris some help, including fellow NBA player & Golden State Warrior Chris Mullen & his famil