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.
Adrian Dantley - A Crossing Guard
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.
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.
Vinnie Johnson – CEO Piston Group
Vinnie Johnson built a Hall of Fame basketball career and an automotive empire. Shooting hoops from 1979 to 1992 for the NBA, Johnson led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back Championships in 1989 and 1990, memorably slipping in a 14-foot shot with .7 seconds left on the clock to clinch the 1990 title. And now he’s leading the automotive industry in Detroit with his automotive supply empire called the Piston Group.
In 1992 Johnson called it quits, leaving the court and going straight to work. By the time the Pistons retired his number in 1995, Johnson was launching his company, Piston Automotive. Since then the company has grown by leaps and bounds, rising from a small Detroit supply chain to a global supplier. He knows what he’s doing. “I’m an ex-jock,” Johnson said, “I know that. But I also know that if you put a good team around you, you can accomplish anything.” Indeed.
Jay Williams – Author and Spokesman
A terrible motorcycle accident wiped out Jay Williams’ NBA career. After just one season with the Bulls, he wrapped his motorcycle around an electrical pole at 70 m.p.h. and the Bulls management let him go. Working hard, hustling with Duke to win the 2001 NCAA Championship, Williams won second pick for the Bulls in 2002, and then it all ended that same year.
He tried a comeback in 2006 with the Nets, but it didn’t work out. Instead he’s worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and CBS. He’s a motivational speaker and, in that vein, he’s penned an autobiography called, Life Is Not an Accident: A Memoir of Reinvention. Williams also took on an advertising gig as spokesperson for a N.Y. bank.