Detlef Schrempf chose the most practical career path possible after retiring from the NBA in 2001. As a financial advisor, he learned how to best manage his wealth, and he’s done a great job! His net worth is $5 million. He hit the NBA shortly upon migrating from Germany to the U.S. After dominating the high school court when he moved here in his senior year, he led the Washington Huskies to the Pac-10, twice.
As an NBA star, Schrempf racked up scoreboards for the Dallas Mavericks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Seattle SuperSonics for 16 years. He was a two-time Sixth Man of the Year and a three-time All-Star. After retirement he stayed in the league for a couple years as an assistant coach for the Sonics. Coldstream Capital has been pleased to employ Schrempf as a Business Development Officer.
John Stockton - Youth Basketball Coach
John Stockton made his mark as an up and coming point guard at Gonzaga catching the eye of the Utah Jazz who chose him in the first round of the 1984 draft. He played for the Jazz his entire career racking up assists by sending packages to Karl “The Mailman” Malone until he retired in 2003. Stockton was appreciated. The city commemorated him by renaming the street to the Salt Lake City Delta Center “John Stockton Drive.” In 2004, they retired his number 12 jersey. In 2009 he became a Basketball Hall of Famer.
After retirement Stockton became a coach. First, he coached youth teams, splitting his time between several different teams. In 2015 he coached professionally, joining the women’s basketball program at Montana State University for a few years. He’s also been pursuing a business career.
Darko Milicic – Apple Farmer
In 2001, Darko Milicic was drafted just one pick behind LeBron James, but Milicic’s NBA career lagged far behind. The Detroit Pistons had high hopes for the 7-foot-tall Serbian, but Milicic did not like playing for the NBA. In fact, he’s already sold his Pistons Championship ring and donated the money to charity. He abruptly retired in 2012. “I was so lost,” Milicic said, “I really came to hate basketball, you know? I just wanted to come back home and live another life.”
And so, he did. After playing briefly for a Serbian basketball team and then giving a kickboxing career a quick shot, he found his true calling. Back at home in his native Serbia he became an apple farmer. He traveled to Italy to study orchard farming and put $8 million into a 125-acre apple farm that yields over 10,000 pounds of fruit per year. He loves it. With sheer excitement in his eyes, he talks about getting into cherry farming.
Hakeem Olajuwon – Real Estate Mogul
Hakeem Olajuwon is another basketball legend whose name is synonymous with the NBA. Olajuwon may have been born in Nigeria, but he’s an American superstar. Starting out at the University of Houston, he came to the NBA with the Houston Rockets in 1984. Apropos of the Rockets, Olajuwon launched his legacy with a bang. That year he won, not just NBA MVP, but NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Finals MVP. It goes without saying, he led the Rockets to an NBA title that year as well. He did the same thing the next year. Back to back championships!
So, what else has he done? Well, first of all he mentored players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, to name a couple. After retiring in 2002 from 18 seasons of play, he became a Houston real estate magnate. With huge investments in the city’s properties, his company, Palladio Development Ltd., churned out $100 million in profits. As a devout Muslim, he’s made his fortune interest free. He’s worth $200 million.
Dennis Rodman – World Diplomat
Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman won five NBA Championships in his 14-season career. Like a basketball genius, he is known as the best rebounding forward in NBA history, racking up points for the Pistons, the Spurs and the Bulls. The two-time All-Star’s attitude came before him. The many scuffles and tension with the NBA ultimately found him sampling other careers.
Rodman’s autobiography called, Bad As I Wanna Be, says it best, as if his tats, piercings and outrageous hairstyles didn’t say it already. He took his impetuous personality to Pro Wrestling and appeared in Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling ring, flamboyantly reveling in the acts. He starred in Hollywood movies, hosted an MTV gig, and ended up in North Korea chillin’ with communist dictator Kim Jong Un—becoming an American ambassador of sorts to the tiny section of the Korean peninsula. He’s lived life his way, unapologetically.