When the new owners of a suburban Seattle mansion stepped inside the foreclosed property, they didn’t find the pristine luxury typically associated with a former NBA player who sold the property to them.
Instead, they were greeted by the unimaginably filthy and hazardous living conditions left behind by former NBA lottery pick Robert Swift.
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The 7-foot center, once destined for NBA stardom, had reduced his million-dollar home into a biohazard zone. The shocking state of the house was a clear physical manifestation of a former professional athlete’s tragic spiral out of the spotlight.
How bad Swift’s house condition was
Swift left behind a sad and disturbing portrayal of his day-to-day life for the new owner of his mansion. Chris Chase of USA Today vividly detailed the squalor, noting that the house was filled with “hundreds of beer cans and cigarette butts, 50-plus bullet casings and a handful of guns, dozens of pizza boxes, piles of trash and even a box filled with letters from prestigious colleges the big man neglected to even open.”
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The same thing could be said outside the house. An engine-less Chevrolet El Camino sat rotting in the driveway, while the front porch was heavily littered with dog feces, maggots and other putrid waste.
Moreover, it was also reported that the structure of the house was compromised, featuring massive holes in the interior drywall and severe damage to load-bearing beams. It was assumed to be the direct result of a makeshift shooting gallery Swift had set up down in the basement.
Swift’s rise and fall
Selected as the 12th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft straight out of high school, Swift entered the league as a highly promising newcomer for the Seattle SuperSonics. With his towering frame, raw athleticism and soft shooting touch, the red-haired big man was widely viewed as the future anchor of the Sonics’ frontcourt.
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By his third year with the Sonics, Swift had earned the trust of the coaching staff. He was locked in to become the team’s starting center for the 2006-07 season. However, a devastating torn ACL derailed Swift’s momentum.
Like a lot of other NBA players who suffered the infamous injury, Swift’s game was never the same after his recovery. He lost his innate explosiveness and just played two more unproductive and injury-plagued seasons in the NBA before being dropped down to the D-League.
Desperate to keep his career alive, Swift spent a season playing overseas and was signed by the Tokyo Apache in Japan under his former coach Bob Hill. He then returned to Seattle to hide away from the world.
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Gripped by depression over his lost career, Swift completely stopped caring. A severe heroin addiction ensued. His life soon descended into serious criminal activity.
In 2014, police raided his heavily fortified home and charged him with possession of a sawed-off shotgun. Just a year later, a fully armed Swift was arrested for his involvement in an alleged home invasion robbery plot. Facing significant prison time, he ultimately secured a plea bargain deal that sentenced him to just 28 days in jail.
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A new and clean life
Following his release, Swift made the pivotal decision to sell off his extensive gun collection, sever ties with his destructive inner circle and attempt to rebuild his life from scratch.
“There are still moments where it’s tough, thinking about everything that’s happened, what I would have done different,” Swift told Sports Illustrated in 2016. “But then I gotta remember that there’s nothing I can do about it now. I gotta move forward.”
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By 2018, Swift was finally clean, sober and back on the hardwood. The former top NBA rookie successfully made his professional basketball return in Spain. Though his second stint in pro ball didn’t last long, Swift’s story serves as an inspiring testament to resilience and the possibility of redemption.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.