NBA Legend Pays it Forward with Vin Baker Recovery Center

His vision is to “Treat, Educate, and Motivate Individuals Impacted by Substance Use.”

by

The Vin Baker name resonates with Milwaukee Bucks basketball fans. At 21, Baker was the Bucks’ first-round draft pick in 1993. At six feet, 11 inches tall, Baker played center and power forward, became a four-time NBA All Star, and a gold medalist at the 2000 Olympics. But there was a dark side. Early on in his career, he became addicted to alcohol. He told me, “In 2006, I was cut from the last team I played for, the Los Angeles Clippers, after the coaches realized I couldn’t get a handle my drinking.” Baker had lost most everything, his money, his pride, and his self-worth. He stayed drunk until 2011 when he stepped on the stairs to recovery. 

For the last five years, he has been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Went Bucks. But dearest to his heart is the Vin Baker Recovery Center with the vision to “Treat, Educate, and Motivate Individuals Impacted by Substance Use with a Continuum of Care That Empowers Individuals, Families, and Communities.”

Recently, Baker and I talked. The big man is imposing, but thoughtful, articulate and dedicated to helping people with drug addiction. 

Vin, what were you like as a kid? Where did you grow up? Tell me about your parents and schools you attended before college.

I grew up in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, small town on the shoreline. Went to public schools. My dad is from North Carolina, my mom from Florida. I was an only child. My mom worked from four to one everyday at Chesebrough-Ponds. My dad was a mechanic, but in 1972, he gave himself to the Lord and became a minister.

Where did you go to college? How did that propel you into an NBA pro basketball career, which lasted, I believe, from 1993 to 2006?

Yes, it did. In 1989, I went to the University of Hartford on a basketball scholarship. Great experience at that school, great coaching staff and teammates. Plus, it was close to my home, so I could often see my parents. In 1993, I was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the eighth pick. 

As far as your personality as a young man, I’ve read that you were kind of shy.

I was an introvert. I was very disciplined. My dad was a preacher, and our household was disciplined.  

I doubt that sports fans realize what real life is like for NBA players each season, especially on the road. The players are amazing athletes, are adulated, respected, and admired, and even loved. But there is the pressure players face of having to perform and live in a kind of bubble. Describe your NBA experience and how it affected you.

That is a great question and description. You nailed that one. To be drafted and playing in the NBA is your dream come true. But along with that dream comes an exorbitant amount of pressure. My first five years in the NBA, I was a four time NBA all star. As money and fame grew, the pressure kept mounting for me to deliver. 

Up until you entered the NBA, you never drank, but your struggle with alcohol began during your earliest days as a pro player, and it led to your hitting rock bottom after you retired. However, for the last 14 years, you gained sobriety and put your life back together. Here is a quote from you - “It’s still one day at a time for me, and I understand, empathize, and know exactly what the attack an alcoholic goes through daily. To wake up every morning and not want to use alcohol is a total blessing. And so I want to give that blessing back.” Is this the inspiration that led you to found the Vin Baker Recovery Center?

Absolutely. I went through reaching the pinnacle of the NBA sport with all the accolades, and then I went down hill. My world came crashing down because of my addiction to alcohol. I hit rock bottom in 2011. By that point, I was broke and living at my parents’ house in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, drinking a gallon of cognac a day and waiting for the alcohol to kill me. When I finally got sober 14 years ago, I saw how devastating it was first hand. For the first few years, I was just happy to be sober again and see life from a new perspective. From my faith, I realized that this was the gift of sobriety. I decided to share this gift, especially after being hired as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach in 2018. At that time, I was managing a Starbucks store in New York, and that story went viral. I decided that I’d use this opportunity to help others who were battling substance abuse. I mean, millions and millions of Americans.

After you became sober, you became a pastor at one point. Do I have that right?

For three years, I was a Youth Pastor at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and later got my license to minister. My long term goal is to someday become a pastor.

Vin Baker Recovery Center

The Vin Baker Recovery Center opened last spring in a state of the art building on 76th and Hampton. How does the Center help people struggling with substance abuse?

We provide everything from medication to counseling, treatment and support. That includes mental health and substance abuse disorder. We give struggling people the opportunity to come in and get everything they need. I’ve gone through the process myself so I could experience what our patients go through. 

At the opening day of the Recovery Center, you said, “Outside of family things and my kids and my parents, this is the most important day to me ever. It’s an opportunity to help save lives, to pay it forward, my sobriety, to pay it forward. I can’t quantify how important this day is.” Can you elaborate?

One of the things I learned in my life journey is that I did not start living until I found out what my purpose was. I had a wonderful career in the NBA, but my real purpose is the business of helping to save lives, touching individuals, touching families. I know how dark it is to struggle with addiction. For a long time, I shared my testimony, but now, with the Vin Baker Recovery Center, I can provide counseling, medication and hope. 

The Recovery Center offers a variety of ways to deal with substance addiction. Again, quoting you, “I can actually provide not only the hope, but I can provide the medication, the treatment, and the therapy that it takes to live a life, a sober life.” Hypothetically, if I am a substance abuser who wants to reform, how do I go about getting help from the Vin Baker Recovery Center?

Call the phone number on our website. 414-539-6999, and speak to a counselor about your addiction issue. Then, you will have a consultation, and we will immediately start a form of treatment. We have wonderful counselors who care about people. 

Our Executive Director, Paulita Payton Murphy, is amazing. 

I’ve read that Milwaukee means the world to you. You said, “I played for a bunch of cities, but I’ve never, you know, felt the love like I’ve felt in the city of Milwaukee.” What is it about Milwaukee that you like?

Milwaukee is where I started my NBA career at 21, where my dream came true. So many Milwaukee people showed me love, from leaders to fans. When I came back to Milwaukee eight years ago, people welcomed me with open arms. They knew what I’d gone though, knew that I was more than just a player and a basketball coach. It was like returning home. I think I am more known now than I was in my pro career as a young man. People know I am here to help this community. My conversations with people go beyond just the Milwaukee Bucks. I am so blessed to be back in Milwaukee.

I believe you wear a bracelet on your right wrist that reads, “It’s OK to not be OK.” What does that mean to you? 

As a public figure when I was a pro player, I was worried about how people judged me. This slows down the process of being happy, of having hope. The bracelet reminds me that it is okay when you are not okay. Especially, for an addict. Once he or she admits they are not okay, then we can help them. By admitting I was not okay, this led me to living a sober life. 

 Contact Vin Baker Recovery, 4757 N. 76th St, Milwaukee, WI 53218; (414) 539-6999,  vinbakerrecovery.com