Cuttino Mobley’s NBA journey had all the makings of a long, successful career. He grew up alongside Kobe Bryant, shared the court with legends like Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley, and once ranked third in the league in 3-point shooting during the 2004-2005 season. But then one trade move to the Knicks, and then everything unraveled. A sudden medical diagnosis forced him into early retirement after just 10 seasons. The most heartbreaking part? He could’ve kept playing if only the choice had been his. But what actually happened?

In November 2008, Mobley was just traded from the Clippers to the Knicks. The team doctors evaluated him and diagnosed him with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart wall, which is a potentially fatal heart condition. In December, Cuttino Mobley announced his retirement after 11 years in the NBA. The media at that time touted this trade as a lifesaver to him.

In the 2004-05 season, Mobley was third in the league in 3-pointers, playing for the Sacramento Kings. That same year, he signed a 5-year, $47 million contract with the Clippers to solve their 3-point problem, a crisis they badly wanted to overcome. Next, he was supposed to play for the New York Knicks when a trade proposal was on the cards in 2008. Initially, the trade to New York was delayed as during medical, an MRI and found out about the heart condition of the then 33-year-old Mobley.

As they had made this trade for salary cap reasons, the Knicks finalized it after his diagnosis anyway, but Mobley ended up retiring. In April 2010, the Knicks announced Mobley’s formal release after the league approved their request for luxury tax relief. 19 days after he arrived in New York, Cuttino Mobley had an emotional farewell without playing a single game in MSG.

“The specialists I’ve seen made it clear that my heart condition has gotten worse, and I couldn’t continue to play professional basketball without putting my health and life in serious danger,” Mobley said during his retirement press conference at the Knicks’ training center. “As much as I want to keep playing in the NBA, I have no choice but to follow the advice of my doctors and step away from the league.” After a farewell from basketball, some years later, when he was 36 years old, he was trying to stage a comeback. So what happened?

Cuttino Mobley’s allegations against the Knicks

During his recent appearance on Podcast P, he told Paul George that a year and a half into his retirement, he concluded he was misdiagnosed. In 2011, almost three years after the trade, he sued the Knicks. He claimed that the Knicks forced him to retire as a cost-saving measure. To clarify, Cuttino Mobley does have this heart condition. He, however, claims that the concerns were unwarranted and prematurely ended his career. He even claimed that the Knicks prevented other teams from pursuing him.

Mobley consulted cardiology experts, including one in Minneapolis. At 36, he filed a lawsuit in New York against the Knicks. The lawsuit claimed that the Knicks’ actions “effectively deprived Mobley of the ability to play professional basketball.” The lawsuit further claimed that NBA teams showed interest in Mobley “but backed out” because of fears over his heart condition.

Cuttino Mobley insisted his heart condition—hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)—wasn’t severe enough to end his career. Diagnosed back in 1999 with the Houston Rockets, he claimed the Knicks were aware but downplayed its seriousness. After trading for him, New York allegedly sent him to specialists known for opposing athletes with HCM, subtly steering him toward retirement. Though Mobley received full pay, retiring saved the Knicks around $19 million in salary and luxury tax, with the league’s insurance covering 80% of his remaining contract.

Mobley still believed he could’ve played with a defibrillator implant, but then the Knicks responded that his allegations “have no merit.” Their statement further claimed, “When the Knicks obtained Cuttino in November 2008, the team fully expected him to be our starting shooting guard. After coldness, he withdrew his lawsuit in 2013 with hopes of a comeback. Without litigation against an NBA team, he hoped teams would consider signing him. That never happened, and he instead made a comeback to the court through the inaugural season of Ice Cube’s Big3.

He however still maintains he was misdiagnosed and remains unforgiving to the New York Knicks. Is Mobley right in his claims, or is it an emotional charge that is taking over the safe exit?