Unknown to fans and teammates, former Boston Celtics celebrity Chris Herren was completing drug deals while wearing his game uniform as his drug addiction raged in the 1990s.

Chris Herren, in his recently published "Basketball Junkie" memoir, jointly authored with sports writer Bill Reynolds, addressed the ways drugs destroyed his life and career, including addictions to painkillers, heroin and cocaine. He recalls completing drug purchases in alleyways in locations like Iran and Turkey, the devastation of his finances and a near-death experience inside an ambulance. He also recalls painful moments like using heroin while his children were with him in his car and spending nearly every dollar he owned on the drugs.

News stories on Chris Herren's addiction and his memoir point to multiple factors leading to the basketball star's drug-addicted life, including expectations stemming from desiring to give his hometown a legend and the gradual destruction of enjoyment from playing basketball. Herren's wife is credited for her steadfastness as Herren began using marijuana, heroin and cocaine while in college and then continued seeing his life destroyed by drugs as he pursued his basketball roles as a U.S. pro and in Europe.

Reflecting on his book, Herren says he thought his drug addictions were unnoticed, even though fans, family members and friends began to question his behaviors. His mother turned to a private detective to monitor Herren's activities, confirming her fears of drug use. Herren also admitted to drug use during his high school years and believed this may have started the addictions that later included painkillers and heroin.

Chris Herren's wife has also said in interviews that his thoughts didn't reflect those of a non-addicted person; but rather they were the thoughts of a person addicted to drugs, as it became evident that he was unable to manage life stressors without the substances. She also said that basketball helped create a false world in which he could rely on drugs to help him avoid the mounting stress.

Herren says in the memoir that his wife's support and hope kept him going through the years of addiction and in-patient treatments. He notes one life-changing incident where he was asked in a counseling session to consider leaving his wife and children because of the suffering his drug use was causing. It was this incident, says Herren, that became a turning point toward recovery from the years of nearly all-consuming drug addiction.

Today Herren hosts basketball leagues for youth and encourages young students not to make the same choices about drugs that he made. In many ways, Herren addresses his recovery from drug addiction and his efforts to share his story as a renewed life focus and continues to talk about the new opportunities ahead.