Retired NBA Players After Their Life Outside The Hardwood
Playing in the NBA means everything for many aspiring athletes. On this stage, they can showcase their elite talent and at the same time, they also receive a huge deal of money – and we are talking about hundreds and millions of dollars here! Now that’s hitting two birds with one stone.
After putting a lot of investment of time, effort and hard work on their craft and improving their game, we now wonder what their lives are like after the glitz and glamour of playing on the biggest stage of the sport. Let’s dive down and touch base with our favorite basketball superstars!
VIN BAKER
The All-Star player Vin Baker was one of the top dogs in the league especially during the mid part of the 90s. Overall, he spent thirteen fruitful years in the league and he was part of a couple of teams but he will go down the wire as a four-time All-Star and a more than a decent player that averages around fifteen points per game. After his time in the NBA, he got involved with a couple of normal jobs including as a manager of a coffeehouse in Connecticut. After a few years, he joined the crew of FOX Sports as part of Milwaukee’s broadcast team. In addition to that, he recently named one of the assistant coaches of the Bucks. That means he’ll never have to worry about his credit score in the coming years.
SHAWN KEMP
Seattle Supersonics superstar athlete Shawn Kemp was one of the top players of the 90s. He was a force to be reckoned with on the court with his relentless play and sheer power. He became a consistent All-Star from 1993 up until 1998. However, he did struggle in the early part of his career but he was constantly mentored by his teammates that brought out his star potential. After spending fourteen successful seasons in the NBA and earning six All-Star appearances, Kemp decided to step away from the hardwood and established his own business. A pretty smart management move if you ask us!
MARK BLOUNT
Mark Blount had a pretty decent career as a basketball player in the NBA over the stretch of nine seasons. He was drafted as the 54th overall pick by Seattle SuperSonics. He spent a couple of years playing basketball outside the league while polishing his skills as a player. His investment on his craft paid off and he was acquired by the Boston Celtics via free agency and set the team record for blocks for his first season in the league. He put up pretty solid numbers throughout his career up until his departure from the league in 2010. Blount later founded a couple of businesses and engaged himself in real estate investments.
DAN DICKAU
Dan Dickau was one of the standout athletes coming from Gonzaga University during his college years while working under the supervision of coach Mark Few. His performance during his collegiate years earned him a clear shot to the NBA and that materialized in 2002 when he was drafted as the 28th overall pick for the Sacramento Kings.After spending a couple of years in the league, he realized that playing in the NBA might not be his cup of tea and his agent, lawyer and the team official agreed to terminate his contract and went their separate ways. According to reports, he later established a barbershop as part of his portfolio.
BRYANT REEVES
Bryant Reeves had a short but significant career as an NBA player as part of the Vancouver Grizzlies’ roster from 1995 up until 2001. He was one of the top centers during his collegiate days with the Oklahoma State University. His stellar performance during his senior year paved the way for them to get to the Final Four after he averaged around 21.5 points per game. That became his golden ticket towards the NBA as the sixth overall pick.After retiring from the league, reports suggest that he spent a portion of his earnings and added a massive cattle ranch in Oklahoma as part of his investment portfolio.
TIM DUNCAN
Many basketball fanatics place Tim Duncan with high regard. Well, we can’t argue with that since he basically made a significant impact on the game right from the get-go. We all remember how it went during his rookie year in the NBA as the first overall pick of the San Antonio Spurs that ended up with a gold chip at the end of the season. He consistently provided the black and silver fans with top-notch numbers day-in and day-out. After his reign ended, he spent a couple of months training himself with MMA to keep his body in tip-top shape. She then spent coaching the guys he left behind. This will be a good back up plan for him to keep his credit score in good shape.
GREG ODEN
The 2007 NBA draft class produced many top brass players including Al Horford, Marc Gasol and probably the best offensive player on the planet, Kevin Durant. However, the top of that draft class was Greg Oden.He was plagued with early injuries that deeply affected his playing time and eventually his whole career. Oden has the potential to become a perennial powerhouse but fell short and that pretty much ended his career early. With his money management skills, we are pretty sure that he’s out of reach of any financial worries on top of that, he just recently got his degree last Spring!
ADRIAN DANTLEY
Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley without a doubt is one of the top dogs in the league, especially during his prime. He never had any issues with his finances over the course of his fifteen seasons in the league and he was not in any threats of going into the bankruptcy line as well. At the time of his retirement from the game, he managed to squeeze his name on the top ten scoring list which says a lot about his overall impact in the game. He later volunteered as a crossing guard around his area to provide safety and security for the kids in his community’s public schools.
DETLEF SCHREMPF
Detlef Schrempf made a reputation for himself around the NBA during the 90s, where he proved to himself and to his peers that he’s a force to be reckoned with when they are playing against him on the court. He was a three-time All-Star and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Awards twice during that decade while showing off his deadly accuracy from long range.After spending sixteen years around the league as a player and a couple of years more as an assistant coach for the Seattle Supersonics, he then spent most of his time as a Business Development Officer in a money management firm in downtown Seattle.
BRANDON ROY
Many were left devastated after hearing that Brandon Roy was forced for retirement after battling numerous injuries. He has a tremendous potential in his bag to become one of the top players of all time but lady luck was clearly not on his side, at least if we are talking about the extent of his career on the court but when it comes to his investments, that’s a different story. After his retirement, he went on and took a job at Garfield High School as their basketball team’s head coach and showcased his excellent coaching and guidance to kids who will become the future of the sport.
SHANDON ANDERSON
Many casual NBA fans might not know who Shandon Anderson is and we can’t blame them since he didn’t have any league-changing achievements or hard-hitting accolades. However, don’t let that fool us because he got a gold chip on his shoulder!He had a pretty decent ten-year career in the NBA as the 54th overall pick for the Utah Jazz in 1996. He journeyed into a couple of teams during that time and eventually ended up with a championship with the 2006 Miami Heat. After his retirement, he added up his vegetarian restaurant in his investment portfolio and pretty much achieved success in that field.
SCOTTIE PIPPEN
When we are talking about the roster of the best teams in the NBA, Scottie Pippen would always be on top of the list. He was known as the one of the greatest Bulls of all-time, in fact, he’s considered within the same league as MJ. He pretty much became a pivotal figure in the Chicago Bulls’ six champion-reign. After spending a few years in the Bulls’ locker room, he then decided to part ways with the team and joined a couple of teams for his journey towards his seventh ring. At the time he’s done playing the game, financial advisors suggested that he needed to get a big livestock farm added to his portfolio.
CHARLIE WARD
Charlie Ward was one of the top dogs back in the days for the New York Knicks. He was one of their most reliable players both on the court and inside the locker room for ten years as part of their roster while consistently providing solid numbers that contributed to the team’s success. The investment the team made for him truly paid off well.After his retirement from the NBA at the closing of the 04-05 season, Ward started making a name for himself as part of the coaching staff. A couple of months later, he managed to slowly climb to the team’s leader board and became their high school basketball team’s head coach.
KARL MALONE
Who wouldn’t know the Mailman, Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz? Well, it is hard to find someone who doesn’t know him since he is one of the greatest players of all-time. In fact, he holds the number two spot when we are talking about the all-time scoring leaders of the NBA. That alone would provide the bigger picture of what he can offer on the table.After his retirement from the game, he got all the time in the world to focus more on the investments that he put up. One example of this is his hauling company that and we can sometimes see him driving a truck himself.
VINNIE JOHNSON
The jersey number 15 for the Detroit Pistons was a main piece of the puzzle for the overall success of the franchise during the late 80s and early 90s when it comes to on-court success. He’s none other than Vinnie “Microwave” Johnson, who had a solid fourteen-year career. Because of the contributions that he made as part of the “Bad Boys” era, the Pistons honored him by retiring his number in a ceremony a couple of years after he took some time off from the league. He put on a couple of investments to make up with his retirement and one of them is the automotive supplier company located in the heart of Detroit.
DARKO MILICIC
The 2003 draft class was regarded as one of the deepest selections of young players around the league, which includes LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and many others. However, many of us don’t actually realize that Darko Milicic was part of the draft selection. He was taken 2nd overall pick of the Detroit Pistons right after LBJ and ahead of Carmelo Anthony. However, many fans of the game failed to see the potential player he could have become. After spending years around the NBA, he decided that it was time to call it quits and start his own investment venture. That plan materialized a couple of years ago when he purchased a 125 acre of land for the purpose of harvesting apples and other crops.
LARUE MARTIN
Many basketball junkies out there might recognize LaRue Martin as the 1972 first-round draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers. He has all the potential to become one of the biggest superstars in the game but he fell short of the expectations brought by being placed as the first overall draft pick of the league.He found himself out of the league sooner than expected but with his financial needs in mind, he instantly revised a plan to keep him on pace with the target he had in mind. His degree in sociology came in handy and he used it to his advantage to put him on edge in the corporate world.
CHIRS ANDERSEN
Chris “The Birdman” Andersen was one of the crowd favorites in the NBA thanks to his never say die attitude. He was one of the hard-working players in the roster and with that alone, he became one of the favorite locker room guys that consistently provides a momentum-shifting move that eventually leads to a W.He was out of the league a few years after he won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2013 but he wouldn’t worry about going into bankruptcy or anything related to that since he got a contract with BIG3 and instantly drafted from the pool of players they had.
OSCAR ROBERTSON
Oscar Palmer Robertson is considered one of the all-time greats on the hardwood. He was one of the athletes that consistently dubbed as a triple-double machine similar to what we see recently with Russell Westbrook. He played around the league for fourteen years and he consistently showed up as one of the league All-Stars for twelve seasons and managed to grab the MVP award back in 1962. His basketball career without a doubt is something stellar but his biggest contribution came from behind the scenes after him and a couple of lawyers drafted a suit that eventually became the backbone structure of the free agency clauses. He’s also one of the main movers when it comes to creating affordable housing in and around the Indianapolis area.
MICHAEL RAY RICHARDSON
Micheal “Sugar” Ray Richardson was the number four overall pick of the New York Knicks at the 1978 draft class. Starting from the get-go, he immediately showed that he can provide a significant impact on the game both on the offensive and defensive end. In his short time with the Knicks, he managed to set the franchise record for both steals and assist. He also became a triple-double machine and holds the second-best record for the franchise with 18. At one point after his career in the league, he became a substitute teacher for children and still looks after them to a certain degree even to this date. He’s also running a few youth camps for underprivileged kids within his area.
DERRICK COLEMAN
Derrick Coleman’s career as an NBA player was highly anticipated. Well, after putting up remarkable numbers during his collegiate years and earning a spot for the first overall pick of the 1990 draft class, he was expected to get great numbers day-in and day-out. However, he was on the verge consistently delivering solid numbers until injuries plagued his body but that didn’t stop him to still post up consistent contributions for his team. Just recently, Coleman placed huge investments for gearing up bottled water and eating utensils within his area. We don’t actually know if he made some profit out of it but from the looks of things, he did it for the well-being of his community.
STEVE FRANCIS
Steve Francis was one of the most electrifying players ever to step foot on the hard-court. He was the second overall pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1999 NBA Draft Class and managed to grab the NBA Rookie of the Year Award as the top-performing player among his peers. He also constantly put up great numbers throughout his career and cashed in three All-Star appearances. After he left the game, he founded a couple of businesses from various industries. He established a construction company, barbershop, and launched his own clothing line. He even entered boxing promotions and producing record labels. He truly has top-notch money management skills!
DENNIS RODMAN
In the game of basketball, scoring points is one of the biggest skills each player needs in his arsenal. However, there are few players in the league who rose to the top of NBA rankings doing everything else aside from scoring buckets. If we are talking about that note, Dennis Rodman without a doubt is part of the conversation.Aside from his glorious career as a basketball player, he also tried his luck in professional wrestling and later became an ambassador. He is one of the few people to ever set foot on North Korea not only once but twice! Unfortunately, he hired a couple of divorce lawyers for his past marriages.
LATRELL SPREWELL
Latrell Sprewell is one of the top-performing athletes in the NBA during the 90s up until the early 2000s. He was a gifted player who could run both ends of the courts on offense and defense. With that kind of caliber of a player, we can easily place not only our money but our credit card as well to him. However, he is also not immune to any faults, especially in his career and personal choices. One of which cost him his entire NBA career and recent reports now suggest that he’s working as a pitchman for an online travel agency.
GILBERT ARENAS
The superstar point guard Gilbert Arenas was on his way to the top of his career in the NBA until one fatal mistake ruined everything for him. Starting from his college years, he already showed flashes of his paramount potential as a floor general. He even saved up a couple of dollars from his student loans right after he was granted a scholarship to play with his team at the University of Arizona. After retiring from the game, he’s been working as a daily sports show host and analyst on Complex News’s YouTube channel and he’s been busy doing his own podcast.
KENNY ANDERSON
Kenny Anderson was the second overall pick of the NBA Draft Class of 1991. He exhibited solid numbers over the course of his career but failed to provide a long-lasting impact around the league. However, in his third season in the league, he showed tremendous growth and nearly doubled up his point output and that surge in his career earned him a spot in the 1994 All-Star game. He later failed to live up to the type of performance he showed during his breakout year and ended up in a couple of teams until he saw himself out of the league line up in 2005. He also filed a bankruptcy report during the same year and he’s slowly trying to get back on his feet in the last couple of years. Anderson also runs a couple of camps and basketball clinics around his community.
JAY WILLIAMS
Jay Williams could easily make a significant impact in the league if he only got his chance to play in the NBA. To give us a quick rundown of his superstar potential, let’s take a look at his overall achievements during his collegiate years.
He was part of the 2001 NCAA championship team with the Blue Devils and was chosen as the NABC Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002, a pretty spectacular sight for any young player. However, it all changed after he got involved in a motorcycle accident that cost him his entire NBA career. On the bright side, he learned his lesson through the incident and established an insurance company that targets athletes and celebrities
ANTOINE WALKER
The sixth overall pick of the Boston Celtics from the 1996 draft class became one of the top players of the franchise during the late 90s up until the early 2000s. Yes, we are talking about none other than Antoine Walker coming from the University of Kentucky. He and Paul Pierce were the main driving force of the Celtics during that time and they consistently became a top-caliber team around the league.
He managed to grab a couple of million dollars from his paycheck as a basketball player. However, he was still able to spend it all that ultimately led him for filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2010. Walker bounced back from this predicament and now works as a sports analyst.
ADAM MORRISON
During his childhood days, Adam Morrison’s family constantly hired moving companies to keep up with the work of his parents. Then at one point, his family settled in Spokane and that pretty much sets up his career path towards basketball.
He became part of the Gonzaga Bulldogs men’s basketball team and consistently showcased his basketball prowess that earned him a couple of accolades during his collegiate years. Morrison was later selected as the third overall draft pick for the Charlotte Bobcats but was plagued with injuries that affected his overall career status. He went back to schooling and finished his degree in Gonzaga University and became one of the university’s assistant coaches.
RONY SEIKALY
The Lebanese-American NBA player, Rony Seikaly was one of the few international players that made a significant impact in the game. He posted eleven successful years in the NBA and immediately became a pivotal player for the Miami Heat. In fact, he was already tallying up superstar-caliber numbers in his second year in the league. That’s a sight we rarely see around the NBA.
After his stay in the NBA, he ventured into real estate investments and tried his luck in the music scenes as a music producer and a DJ. At one point, he even hosted the radio show Sugar Free Radio on Sirius/XM.
JOHN STOCKTON
When we are talking about some of the greatest NBA players of all time, we will bet our credit cards that John Stockton would always be on the top of our list. He’s without a doubt the best point guard in the league and it seems like it would take a long time to dethrone him in his place. He was part of the dynamic duo of Stockton-Malone of the Utah Jazz that dominated the West during the 90s. He put up a lot of business after his retirement that kept him busy. He was also seen coaching a couple of teams in clinics and was named one of the coaches for Montana State University’s women’s basketball program.
BILL WALTON
Even right before he jumped into the league, Bill Walton already showed that he’s a born winner. During his college years, he played for the UCLA Bruins during the early 70s and earned himself a National college player of the year award for three straight times. He’s also part of the legendary team that rounded up an impressive 88-game winning streak. That became his golden ticket to the league as he was named the first overall draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers.A couple of years later, he immediately led his team to an NBA title and the Finals MVP of the 1977 season. Even with his medical insurance and top-notch medical staff of the NBA, his career was still plagued with injuries. Now, he’s working as a commentator and a sports broadcaster for a couple of sports stations.
MICHAEL JORDAN
M.J. is considered the greatest of all time when it comes to the world of basketball and there’s a lot of proof to back up this claim. He’s well-remembered during his time with the Chicago Bulls as their leader that led to two three-peats and many will argue that he could have gotten more if he didn’t opt for early retirement during the 90s. He went back to the game and still made a significant impact around the league up until his final retirement was reached. Because of his top-notch money management skills, he was able to accumulate a truck-load of fortune in his account, which he used to establish a couple of companies. He’s a born winner both on and off the court.
HAKEEM OLAJUWON
The league has never seen a big man that can move as swiftly and as gracefully as Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon. He’s a towering talent who became a two time NBA champion for the Houston Rockets. Olajuwon is considered a once in every generation talent and is always in consideration when talking about the greatest of all time. After his retirement from the league in 2002, Olajuwon tried his luck with real estate investments around the Houston area and became a pretty big player in that scene. He’s also working as a trainer for various superstars such as Dwight Howard, Amar’e Stoudemire, Kenneth Faried, and many others.
SHAWN BRADLEY
The 80s and the 90s basketball scene was dominated by big guys that can hoop and one of these tall guys was Shawn Bradley. His height was listed at around seven feet-six inches and we can clearly see why he was one of the highly touted individuals back in the days. He became the second overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft Class for the Philadelphia 76ers. At first, he struggled to show signs of consistency that later led to him being traded to the New Jersey Nets. There, his number showed better results but the pattern was still showing. He was then traded again to the Dallas Mavericks that involved nine other players. With all the money he earned in the league, he easily could afford anything that came into his mind but his smart investment skills kicked in and he purchased a massive cattle ranch to help him get a stable income.
MACEO BASTON
Maceo Baston only has a quick stint in the NBA. He was selected as the 58th overall pick of the Chicago Bulls back in 1998 but actually never played for the franchise. He was later seen in Europe for a short time and became part of the Toronto Raptors’ roster for a couple of months. Baston flew overseas a couple of times and finally received a two-year deal with the Indiana Pacers. He didn’t get that big break that he was hoping for in the NBA but he managed to keep himself out of the bankruptcy limit after founding a successful cupcake store in Michigan.
TOM CHAMBERS
Tom Chambers had a stellar career in the NBA. He’s a four-time All-Star selection and even named the All-Star game MVP in 1987. That’s not your run-of-the-mill achievement that can be seen around the league. If we look at his stats on paper, we can easily say that he could easily earn a spot as one of the
Hall of Famers but for some reason, he wasn’t inducted into the list. In fact, he’s one of the two players who had scored more than 20,000 points but wasn’t given the honors to be included in that prestigious circle. He now works as a sports broadcaster and manages his own horse ranch. He probably had a very good financial advisor to steer him in the right direction.
JUNIOR BRIDGEMAN
Junior Bridgeman was the eighth overall draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1975 Draft Class but was traded away to the Milwaukee Bucks as a bargaining chip for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley. He had a rough start in the earlier part of his career as an NBA player but his fate subsequently changed right after the franchise tweaked their coaching staff. The move saw a significant improvement in his numbers and he put up solid stats since then. After he retired from the NBA, he started working in the corporate world and his keen sense of money management led him to the right path. A couple of years ago, there was a report that he planned to buy a bottling company in Canada.
CHRIS WASHBURN
During the early to mid-80s, Chris Washburn was considered one of the top recruits across the country. He has that unique mix of soft touches around the rim along with a strong and athletic body that could guard down any opposing big man. He later signed for the 1986 Draft Class and was selected as the third overall draft pick of the Golden State Warriors. However, his potential was never reached and he was no longer in the league after just a couple of years.After his release from the league, he established a couple of investments such as his fried chicken business but that one failed as well. Reports suggest that he’s now working for a mortgage company.
EVAN ESCHMEYER
Evan Bruce Eschmeyer only had a couple of years in his resume as an NBA player but he surely made the most out of it. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets as the 34th pick overall of the 1999 NBA Draft Class but only saw four years of acting around the league because of the injuries he suffered. With the risk of ruining his motor skills, he retired from the league to save what’s left of his body condition. That was the right choice for him since he was able to make a name for himself in a couple of industries as an entrepreneur. At one point, he was seen working as a lawyer in a law firm.