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.
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.
Detlef Schrempf – Business Development Officer
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.
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.
Shawn Bradley – Utah Rancher
You can’t miss this guy on the court. Even among giants, Shawn Bradley towered at 7-foot, six-inches. Bradley was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1993 after leaving Brigham Young. He went on to play center for the Nets and the Mavericks, leading the league in blocks in 1997. In 2005 he called it quits.
One of his post-retirement endeavors has been running for the House of Representatives as a 2010 Republican candidate. He lost that race, but he went on to be in the movie Space Jam. His day job is running a ranch. Finding a horse big enough to carry him is one of the challenges of working on the ranch. He enjoys operating heavy equipment and has his own heavy equipment rental company called Mammoth Machinery, also based in Utah. Bradley is also a devout Mormon. He and his wife of six children live on the Utah ranch.