NEW YORK — A film project has earned former Boston Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis a temporary reprieve from the start of his three-year prison sentence for a fraud conviction in Manhattan federal court.
Judge Valerie E. Caproni said Wednesday that Davis can wait until Oct. 22 to begin serving his three-year, four-month sentence for defrauding an insurance plan for NBA players and their families. The judge postponed his Sunday deadline to report to prison for seven weeks after his lawyer said he was working to complete a documentary project about his life.
Davis, a member of the Celtics' 2008 championship team, was among nearly two dozen former players and others, including doctors, who have been convicted in recent years of defrauding the NBA's player health and welfare plan out of more than $5 million.
On Tuesday, attorney Brendan White requested the extension for Davis, citing a Hollywood production company's need to finish her project. White wrote that the delays in the project were due to difficulties in arranging interviews with crewmates and professional colleagues who need to speak with Davis on the film.
The attorney wrote that the film's proceeds “could go a long way” toward meeting the $80,000 restitution.
In his order granting the stay, Caproni wrote that Davis “owes significant restitution” to a victim and hopes “optimism about the film's financial rewards is justified.”
At the May 9 sentencing, Davis referred to an injury that derailed his career and said that for the past five or six years, “I've been struggling because basketball was taken away from me.”
“That's all I know. I was an expert at that,” he said. “But when I lost basketball, I lost myself.”
His attorney, Sabrina Shroff, said during sentencing that Davis had been on a “colossal streak of bad luck” and was so destitute that he once asked her for $800 to keep his phone working.
However, Caproni said at the time that Davis had not fully cooperated with probation department officials and had taken no steps to address his problems.
Federal prosecutor Ryan Finkel told the judge during sentencing that Davis was “probably the most successful basketball player” caught up in the insurance conspiracy.
Davis, 38, played for the Celtics, Orlando Magic and LA Clippers from 2007 to 2015 after leading LSU to the 2006 Final Four.
