Caleb Swanigan had a short career in the NBA. He’s the same age as the current forerunner for the MVP award Nikola Jokic but the two had a very different path in the league. Back in the day, Swanigan was even drafted higher than Joker as he was 26th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Big things were expected from this man, but things went astray for him.
After making a name for himself while playing for Purdue in the NCAA, the Portland Trail Blazers took s shoot at him and selected him with the 26th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. As we said, the expectations were there as they always are for first-round picks, but he just couldn’t remain on the right path.
His issues weren’t tied to off-field incidents but instead, it was his weight. He was known under the nickname Biggie which serves him right as back when he was thirteen years old he reached 160 kilos which is y no means healthy. But, he overcame childhood obesity and was a peak athlete during his high school and college days. When he joined the Trail Blazers he was in peak physical condition and there were no issues with him.
Really hope Caleb Swanigan is all right, this is scary… he was in the NBA just last year pic.twitter.com/lzm28di3Kt
— Mike Korzemba (@mikekorz) May 18, 2024
He’s a tall man, with 206cm to his name, but with a reported 180 kilos he sports now, the NBA may be a far dream for him. But, as is usually the case, he now doesn’t only have weight issues but also faces criminal charges and could be facing jail time. Since parting ways with Portland he’s been out of sports and as you can see in the photos no club would be even interested in him.
The latest news claim that he’s been to court to face allegations of owning 1.5 kilos of marijuana, which shows us what’s he’s been up to while away from the league. So, in addition to being seriously overweight, he now has other issues that even surpass his weight. According to reports, he admitted his wrongdoing and due to it, he could avoid being jailed. According to the law, he’s facing a suspended sentence that will be done in two terms each being 180 days if it comes to that.
"You don’t know WHAT it is he’s going through to cause a drastic change. If you gone be supportive then do that but don’t ask no shit like that like it’s not possible when you naturally a big dude and go down a dark road."
– Damian Lillard speaks out on Caleb Swanigan. ? pic.twitter.com/H9eINP2GSZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 19, 2024
While being in the dark place, we hope he has what it takes to come back even stronger as he already once did. One thing is sure, he has the support of his former teammate and superstar Damien Lillard who stood up to fans on Twitter who mocked Swanigan for his appearance.
While he’s dealing with all sorts of issues, his team had a good start to the NBA playoffs winning the first match against the favored Denver Nuggets, on the back of stellar performance of the Lillard himself who packed 34 points.
Nicola Holder