Arguably the most unique post-NBA career move, Adrian Dantley works as a crossing guard, protecting children crossing the street at a local school in Maryland. Former NBA great and 2008 Basketball Hall of Famer, Dantley, was a two-time NBA scoring champ and a six-time All-Star for the Utah Jazz. He retired in 1991.
Since leaving his successful career behind, Dantley finds meaning in his $14K day job with the school district. “I’ve definitely saved two lives. I’ve almost gotten hit by a car twice,” said Dantley. It’s important work! And it gives his day structure. Just like basketball he has to show up on a schedule, and he’s got summers and holidays off. He also enjoys refereeing for youth basketball in his retirement years.
Shandon Anderson - Owns a Vegan Restaurant
Shandon Anderson enjoyed a respectable 10-year career with the NBA. It all started in 1996 when the Utah Jazz drafted the native Georgian. He went on to play for the Houston Rockets, the N.Y. Knicks and Miami Heat. In 2006 Anderson won a championship ring with Miami. He retired the same year.
Another claim to fame for Anderson is his vegetarianism. He began moving toward a vegan menu over 20 years ago, allowing some occasional fish and chicken. In 2010 he took the vegan lifestyle so seriously that he signed up for culinary courses. Bringing his love for art and food together, he established a restaurant called Drink Art, serving views of its art gallery and dishes of a yummy Thai/Vegan hybrid. The restaurant adventure lasted a brief three years before shutting its doors. Anderson’s doing just fine. He’s in his mid-forties and kickin’ it with a net worth of $22 million.
Tim Duncan – Mixed Martial Arts Fighter
As an NBA player, Tim Duncan was phenomenal. He’s considered one of the ten best NBA players of all time. With the San Antonio Spurs, he won five NBA titles, three Finals MVPs, and two league MVPs. Since he retired in 2016, he chills at his BlackJack Speed Shop, a tricked out custom car services shop and showroom, and in the MMA studio, learning a few moves. He’s formidable. No word yet if he’ll fight professionally.
Duncan has a giving heart and will occasionally be found personally handing out food to the less fortunate. A fan recognized him handing out food in San Antonio, home of the Spurs, in January. When Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he was born and raised, Duncan teamed up with the San Antonio Food Bank to help out. His long list of philanthropy is long.
Antoine Walker – A Financial Adviser
Two years into his NBA retirement, Antoine Walker burned through $108 million—his entire earnings as a professional basketball player. An extravagant lifestyle, gambling, and overly generous habits, like acting as an open ATM for friends and family, sank him. Plus, a real estate investment firm he created called Walker Ventures, heavily weighted in undeveloped properties, succumbed to the 2008 Recession. It all added up to a bankruptcy filing in 2010.
His future looked stellar from his view in 1996 as an NCAA basketball champion and a Celtics top pick. He was only 20 years old. His superstar career brought unimaginable wealth to a boy who had only known inner city poverty growing up in Chicago. Now he’s working as a financial advisor to warn others about the perils of poor money management, and he’s put out a documentary to prove it called, Gone in an Instant.
Scottie Pippen – Arkansas Rancher and ESPN Analyst
Legendary Chicago Bulls forward, Scottie Pippen, hardly needs an introduction. His Bulls jersey is reverently retired next to Michael Jordan’s, Jerry Sloan’s and Bob Love’s. He and Jordan were an indomitable duo in the ‘90s, clinching an astounding six NBA Championships. Pippen is one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and a seven-time All-Star, plus, All-Star MVP in 1994. His career stretched an admirable 17 seasons. He finally gave up the ball in 2005 only to attempt an ill-fated comeback in 2007.
When he finally settled down and retired, he said, “I’m a family man and I couldn’t be happier.” He bought a farm with his brother in Hamburg, Arkansas, their hometown. Pippen lives in Florida, leaving the grunt work on the livestock ranch for his brother. Besides promoting global brands like Nike and the Bulls, he’s also teamed up with Market America, another brand he finds worthy of his name. Pippen also works for ESPN as an NBA analyst in his spare time.