Former Minnesota Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair brings the ball up the court during an NBA preseason game against the New York Knicks in Paris. File photo by David Silpa/UPI |
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Sebastian Telfair, who last appeared in an NBA game in 2014, was arrested early Sunday morning in New York on gun charges.
Telfair, 32, was arrested in Brooklyn about a mile east of Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, at about 2:50 a.m. EDT. Police found him and another man with four loaded guns and a bulletproof vest after spotting his Ford F-150 pickup truck parked on a median.
The vehicle tried to drive off without headlights, and cops pulled it over. Police said they smelled marijuana and found two bags of pot along with the firearms.
Telfair was arrested for the second time.
In 2007, he was found with a loaded handgun under the passenger seat of a car he was driving in Yonkers, N.Y. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon, received three years of probation, and the NBA suspended him three games.
Telfair averaged 7.4 points and shot 39 percent in 564 regular-season games with eight teams. The Portland Trail Blazers made him the 13th overall pick in 2004 out of Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn.
Portland traded him to Boston in a three-way deal that ultimately landed the rights to Brandon Roy in 2006. The Celtics traded him to Minnesota a year later in the blockbuster deal for Kevin Garnett.
Telfair is the younger cousin of former NBA guard Stephon Marbury. His last game in the NBA was Nov. 26, 2014, for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he played in China after being released by the Thunder.
The former guard originally committed to Louisville before turning pro. In 2006, he had a book written about him titled: "Sebastian Telfair and the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball."