NBA Draft preview: Mo money, mo problems

Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell are widely expected to be the top picks in Thursday's NBA draft. It's a bit of a crapshoot after that and could be for the top three picks as well, at least financially speaking.

"Be wise, NBA rookie," writes former NBA first-round draft pick Adonal Foyle. "Take it upon yourself to learn as much as you can to secure your future not only as a player, but as a man. A lot’s going to happen on the court for you. Just don’t forget about what happens away from it."

Foyle, who played 13 NBA seasons, joins Yahoo Finance in the accompanying video to discuss the draft, the financial pitfalls pro athletes face and his new book, Winning the Money Game: Lessons Learned from the Financial Fouls of Athletes.

"Athletes have this psychology that they're indestructible [but] that very thing that makes them great athletes makes them poor financial people because they think 'nothing is going to happen to me, I'll be fine,'" Foyle says, partially explaining why a reported 60% of NBA players are broke within five years of retirement and nearly 80% of NFL players after just two years.

Foyle, who has a masters degree in sports psychology, identified another financial problem that doesn't just apply to young athletes: A fear of admitting we don't know everything.

"It's a major issue in almost every aspect of life, we tell ourselves, 'if we tell people we're vulnerable, they might take advantage of us'; so you hide it and put up this wall," he explains. "Having this outer layer of not willing to make yourself vulnerable doesn't help you in the long run."

As with professional athletes, many Americans get themselves into financial hot water because they'd rather not admit they don't understand something, for fear of 'looking foolish'. But not asking questions and hiding behind a false bravado can do more than just hurt your feelings, especially when it comes to your money.

Watch the accompanying video to hear Foyle's recollections about the NBA veterans who helped mentor him when he was coming to the league and about his charitable work with the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, and the inspiration behind its name.

Aaron Task is Editor-at-Large of Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at atask@yahoo-inc.com.

CORRECTION: An earlier version misidentified Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor on their respective photos. An earlier version incorrectly spelled the guest's last name as Foyel. Yahoo Finance regrets the errors.