We all know how lucrative an NBA career can be. You would never imagine that some of the basketball stars that were great at the sport would ever end up living a second life. Stars like Shaq and Charles Barkley have decided to venture into television. Some of the stars have actually ditched the fame and spotlight to live as normal a life as they can. You would be surprised because some of the biggest stars during their time ended up just like us normal folks...
Shawn Kemp, after 14 years of playing for the NBA became a six-time all-star and named All-NBA Second Team three times. He retired in 2003 and set up Oskar’s Kitchen in Seattle. The sports bar located in the Pacific Northwest was something the NBA star had always wanted. He had to close this bar in 2015 but is still a partial owner of Amber’s Kitchen in Seattle.
LaRue Martin was the first overall pick during the 1972 NBA Draft. He spent 4 years playing for the NBA but soon need to find another work for a living. He joined an entry-level job at UPS. Since he was a hard worker, he became the Community Services Manager in 2005. Besides his 9-5 job, he holds a job at the Board of Directors for the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
Mark Blount joined the NBA all the way back in 1997. He debuted with the Celtics in 2001. In 2009, after retiring, Blount then invested his money, purchasing two Auntie Anne's Pretzel franchises. Other than Blount, another baller, Shaq who is not on this list, also owns a franchise. He had decided to turn his love for fast food and snacks into good use...
Dan Dickau is among Gonzaga University's greatest basketball players ever. After 6 years of playing ball professionally, Dickau needed to find work somewhere else. He decided to open The Barbers in Washington. The house of hair quickly became popular with the locals there. He owns and operates in his barbershop,and sometimes appears on ESPN Radio and the Pac-12 Network.
Bryant Reeves had to quite NBA after only six seasons."Big Country" was not able to handle his injuries and decided that raising cattle on a farm would be best for him. Though sports proved to be too much for him, he definitely was an expert on the farm. Reeves has and works on his massive 300-acre cattle ranch in Oklahoma. He really does live up to his nickname after all...
Vin Baker after 12 years of playing ball sadly had to pass it up due to his heavy alcoholism. He now works as a manager at Starbucks and also holds a post as a minister at his father's church. He explained how his life is now, "I was an alcoholic, I lost a fortune. I had a great talent and lost it. For the people on the outside looking in, they're like 'Wow.’ For me, I’m 43 and I have four kids. I have to pick up the pieces."
This might be the weirdest retirement choice on our list. San Antonio Spur legend Tim Duncan has now found a passion as an MMA fighter after he retired. He is currently just training but his trainer has revealed that Duncan is "a monster" and "a legit contender." As he waits for his MMA career to begin, Duncan is a busy man as he runs BlackJack Speed Shop, an auto body shop that was opened in 2013.
The Portland Trailblazers chose Greg Oden to be the first overall pick in 2007 having high hopes for him. His career ended up being heavily injury-riddled and so Oden could only play 23 games and retired with chronic foot problems. As his professional balling career got over, he turned towards academics. Working at Ohio State as the student managers of the men's basketball team, he now has a second career.
This is definitely a shocking job on our list. Adrian Dantley after his 15-year NBA career got inducted into the Hall of Fame. In 2010, Dantley, after working as a coach, decided to take up a job as a crossing guard. The low profile job allegedly pays Dantley $14,000 a year, so this is definitely not a job he took for the money. He loves to help others and his job also provides health benefits so he does not complain.
In college, Detlef Schrempf studied International Business. He then had a smooth run of 16-years as an NBA player. He made use of his degree and held a job at Coldstream Capital Management as a business development officer. On top of his 9-5, Schrempf does acting too. He has a recurring role in 'Parks and Recreation' and it shows how comfortable he is in front of the camera.
There were speculations that Brandon Roy would get to enjoy a Hall of Fame NBA career but his knee injuries stopped this from happening. Roy's knee did not fully recover so he decided to run after a career in broadcasting but failed. In 2016, Roy took a job as the head boys basketball coach at Nathan High School. He scored a perfect 29-0 on his first season and received the Naismith High School Basketball Coach of the Year Award.
The most memorable moment of Shandon Anderson's NBA career was when he won an NBA Championship as a role player for the 2006 Miami Heat. After retiring, he went back to school and studied to become a vegetarian chef, in the hopes of owning a restaurant. He did an internship at Candle 79, one of New York most famous vegan restaurants. He soon opened his own joint, Drink Art in Atlanta that unfortunately closed after a year in business.
Scottie Pippen took quite some time to accept his retirement. He is among the greatest player for Chicago Bulls in history. Pippen retired in 2004 and immediately regretted doing this. He tried to have a successful comeback for a few years in the hopes of winning a seventh ring. After realizing it would not happen, he opted for a second career with his brother. The duo co-own a livestock farm in Arkansas.
Charlie Ward ended up winning the Heisman Trophy playing football at Florida State. He was then undrafted by the NFL and joined the NBA. Ward ended up playing for 11 seasons in the league, joining the New York Knicks. He retired in 2005 and took a job as he also loved coaching. He did not go professional instead took jobs at the high school level and is a head coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola, Florida.
Karl Malone had a legendary NBA career. He made enough fortune to not work for his entire life. After he retired, he invested some of his money in several businesses and even took time to work as a part-time truck driver. He invested in several businesses including a timber hauler. He is actually very passionately about this work and is hands-on about it too because he drives for the company as well.
Vinnie Johnson was among the player NBA fans called "Bad Boys" of the league. With the Detroit Pistons, won titles from 1989 and 1990. It was 1992 and Johnson had to retire. He started Piston Group, a small manufacturing company that went on to become a multi-million dollar asset. As the CEO, Johnson has proven that he knows how to run a business...
Darko Miličić calls himself the biggest NBA Draft bust of all-time. As an overall pick 2003, he had a mediocre career with Celtics, retiring in 2012. These days, Darko resides in Serbia growing apples. He went back to his home to try a career in kickboxer in his country. Then he decided that this was not the path for himself and now works on rows of apple trees on his 125-acre farm.
He is an old school NBA star and Oscar Robertson was amazing during his 14-year career. Named an all-star 12 times, Robertson retired and was included among the league's highest-scoring guards ever. He then worked to create affordable housing for African Americans in Indianapolis. Dues to his philanthropic efforts the University of Cincinnati honored Robertson with an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters in 2007.
Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson had a 24-year long career playing ball. His joined the NBA but in 1986 the commissioner banned him for life. Richardson then had another 14-year long career playing professionally in Europe. He retired in 2002 and Richardson got into coaching for a few years but he soon decided to become a substitute teaching. Now in his 60s, he is teaching in Oklahoma.
After his 15-year NBA career, Derrick Coleman was dubbed lazy by his coaches. There is no sign of this after he retired because Coleman works day in and day out to deliver water to families in need. Coleman drives all over Flint, Michigan to deliver drinking water. He explains, "That's what I'm seeing. Distress. I'm seeing people who need help. I've seen the rust and everything that's in their water. Flint is like a ghost town, and it's sad... How can this happen here in America?"
After playing nine NBA seasons, Steve Francis decided that it was time for him to pursue his other passion, namely, music. He founded Mazerati Music. His endeavor to set up a hip-hop record label was unsuccessful and this led to another venture. Following Maserati Music, Francis then began his clothing line, We r One. He is facing financial problems so all his projects are on hold.
Dennis Rodman is still visible in the public eye. The NBA icon is still not holding a 9-5 job, but his post NBA career deserves a spot on our list After retiring, Rodman did some professional wrestling and soon that followed him becoming a political ambassador. He traveled to North Korea in 2013 and even called Kim Jong Un a "friend for life." and returned to North Korea in the year 2017.
Latrell Sprewell always had a controversial reputation. He was at his peak but sadly his brutal attack on Warriors head coach P.J. Carlesimo in 1997 made a mess of his career. He retired in 2005, and karma struck back. Sprewell lost several of his mansions and even his yacht crashed. He ended up becoming a pitchman for Priceline where he would admit his faults...
Wilt Chamberlain said goodbye to his NBA in 1973. He was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Chamberlain then took up every job in the pool in the search for what he enjoyed most. In the end, he became a pitchman. He, unfortunately, passed way in the year 1999 from heart failure. His highlight reel and his commercials are still one of the most watched till date...
Gilbert Arenas was an NBA player who showed a lot of potentials. He was the 31st pick in the 2001 Draft and managed to score himself $163 million over his career. With that much money, you would think he would stop working. But no, not Arenas. He did not opt for a full 9-5, but he was still involved with sports and works as a sports analyst for Complex.
Kenny Anderson worked as a high school basketball coach and was living a nice life. But his luck turned after some time. In 2013, he was arrested for a DUI which ended in him losing his job. He took some time to get back on his feet but now he runs basketball camps in Florida. He wants to go back to his high school coaching, but he is aware that it will take a long time...
Jay Williams had so much potential to become one of the best NBA players ever. He was drafted by the Bulls, everyone was excited to see him grow. Unfortunately, even before he started his career, he met with a motorcycle accident. His career was over even before it began. After he recovered from his accident, Williams became a spokesman at the Visions Federal Credit Union. And he is also a college basketball analyst at ESPN.
Antoine Walker had a super successful NBA career. In 13 seasons, he ended up making over $100 million. He ended up spending too much so he filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Three years later, Walker after his debts were cleared, his second career began. He began working at Morgan Stanley Global Sports and Entertainment to teach financial literacy to new players.
Adam Morrison had a very high potential to become an amazing NBA player. His career had a halt when he tore his ACL in 2007. After this, he never became more than a role player on the Los Angeles Lakers. He went back to high school after retiring. He joined Gonzaga to pursue his degree in sports management, he also took up work as the basketball team's coaching staff.
Rony Seikaly had a smooth 11 year NBA career. After retiring from sports, he wanted to become a DJ. Although most of his peers fail from changing their NBA career to be entertainers, Seikaly was excellent with his new job. He played for several clubs in Las Vegas, Miami, New York, and Ibiza. He was not planning to make this a full-time career but "the opportunity came organically and it seemed like it would be fun and it grew from there."
When he was in the NBA, John Stockton was part of a dynamic duo with Karl Malone. He was well known for always willing to assist rather than to score the basket for himself. He retired as an NBA player in 2003, but he did not put basketball behind entirely. He worked as an assistant coach for the Montana State University Women’s Basketball team, as well as a few other youth basketball teams.
Bill Walton began playing at UCLA Bruins in the 70s winning two national titles. He got drafted by the NBA and soon played for the Portland Trailblazers winning MVP and two NBA Championships. He retired in 1987, worked hard to overcome his stuttering problem. He later became the NBA commentator for CBS, NBC, the Los Angeles Clippers, ABC/ESPN.
He is thought of to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Everyone knows former Chicago Bulls powerhouse went ahead and retired by 2003. He had made over $90 million but currently has a net worth of $1.3 billion. He is still working and is a part owner of Charlotte Hornets. He also deals with massive companies such as Hanes, Gatorade, and more plus a car dealership and seven restaurants.
Hakeem Olajuwon had joined Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors during 1984 and 2002 with back-to-back-championships in 1994 and 1995. He has also mentored amazing new players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, among others. While Olajuwon did some investment after his NBA career, he was wise with his spending. As a real estate dealer, he is still earning loads.
Shawn Bradley was well known as he was one of the tallest players during his time and first joined Philadelphia 76ers, then moving to the New Jersey Nets. He then played for Dallas Mavericks for a majority of his time playing professionally. He had a role in 'Space Jam' then after retiring in 2005, Bradley wanted to live the farm life and purchased a massive cattle ranch.
During his time are an NBA player, Maceo Baston joined the Toronto Raptors, then he was with the Indiana Pacers playing for these teams twice in his whole career. He then played professional basketball all over the globe until he was done. After retiring, he ran a cupcake business with his wife called Taste Love Cupcakes in Michigan competing in the Cupcake Wars bringing home $10,000.
Tom Chambers became the only basketball player to score 20,000 points during his career and be eligible for the Hall of Fame but failed. He became an NBA All-Star four times and had a 16-year career playing for six different teams. Today, he has a job as a correspondent for Fox Sports Arizona covering the Phoenix Suns. He is a horse breeder in Utah but treats this as a hobby.
Junior Bridgman's net worth is over $600 million after playing professionally at the NBA for 12 years from 1975 to 1987. He played for the Lakers and later the Bucks. After this, he purchased a whopping, 450 restaurant franchises, mostly, Wendy's and Chili's. Years later, he sold some of his restaurants to do business with Coca Cola and now distributes Coca Cola company and the third independent bottler.
Chris Washburn became one of the most famous players in the history of the NBA. He became the third pick t be drafted in 1986 and joined the Golden State Warriors. Drugs then stopped his basketball career from prospering and faced a lifetime ban from the league after he failed three drug tests within three years. He started a fried chicken business with his girlfriend in 2000 letting go of drugs. Washburn now works at a home mortgage company.
After being drafted by the NBA in 1999, Evan Eschmeyer played for the New Jersey Nets for 4 years. However, because of his knee problems, he only managed to participate in 153 games scoring 421 points. However, he forced to retire due to his knee in 2004. He rejoined Northwestern University taking part in a competitive JD-MBA program. He has a law degree and an MBA. He has since worked as an attorney, entrepreneur, and director of finance for Atlas Tower.