How Andre Iguodala handled his rare NBA sabbatical in Silicon Valley(espn.com)
espn.com
How Andre Iguodala handled his rare NBA sabbatical in Silicon Valley
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28633740/how-andre-iguodala-handled-rare-nba-sabbatical
34 comments
A lot of athletes have their intelligence underestimated because of their background and education - most people don't understand just how smart you need to be to compete at the highest level.
But lets not fool ourselves either, there is also a lot of celebrity investments where a famous name is slapped on a lifestyle product like vitamin water, the celebrity makes millions, and the consumers ultimately get shafted because more often then not the celebrity name is just credentialism to up-sell a mediocre product. Shark tank does this as well because they know as soon as the show airs there will be a huge spike in sales by default.
Sometimes this is really bad for society as was the case with Theranos board of directors and any of the Kardashian brands. We shouldn't let celebrities amplify pump and dump schemes. I don't think the NBA players you listed have been involved, but I think its always important that we are vigilant for it...
But lets not fool ourselves either, there is also a lot of celebrity investments where a famous name is slapped on a lifestyle product like vitamin water, the celebrity makes millions, and the consumers ultimately get shafted because more often then not the celebrity name is just credentialism to up-sell a mediocre product. Shark tank does this as well because they know as soon as the show airs there will be a huge spike in sales by default.
Sometimes this is really bad for society as was the case with Theranos board of directors and any of the Kardashian brands. We shouldn't let celebrities amplify pump and dump schemes. I don't think the NBA players you listed have been involved, but I think its always important that we are vigilant for it...
I'm not sure it's reasonable to put blame on celebrities (athletes or otherwise) for hawking crappy things. A lot of the things people spend "more" on are mediocre product, excellent branding (Apple, Gucci, Range Rover, the list goes on). A celebrity endorsement is just more of the same - branding.
And I appreciate your diplomacy (seriously), but a lot of athletes have their intelligence underestimated because they are minorities and only went to college for one or two years...but mostly because they are minorities. The notion that someone young and African-American who can jump out of the gym might also be really smart is not something that's common to consider unfortunately.
And I appreciate your diplomacy (seriously), but a lot of athletes have their intelligence underestimated because they are minorities and only went to college for one or two years...but mostly because they are minorities. The notion that someone young and African-American who can jump out of the gym might also be really smart is not something that's common to consider unfortunately.
There's a difference between "paying a lot more for the same thing" (soda with a pretty label) and "paying a lot more for a better thing but maybe not worth it to me because I'm not rich enough and my
limited moneyy pays for more important things" as in the examples above.
Are there a lot of sodas that cost 2 or 3x as much as an alternate, not pretty packaged soda?
Red Bull counts I think, basically just soda with Taurine and a bit of caffeine sprinkled in. Those things are nearly $5 a can.
a little grocery hack for that: you can get a 10-pack of bacchus-d, the korean precursor to red bull, for about $5-7 at asian stores. the bottles are small but they pack a similar punch.
My wording could've been much better, for me its less about condemning celebrity endorsements but taming various tech and consumer fetishes which I ultimately deem as harmful to society.
For example, investing in start-ups is good but raising gluttonous amounts of money with a terrible product or business plan is bad. If we have a bunch of articles glorifying industry outsiders parking their money here, it will raise a reciprocal amount of Uber and dollar shave club clones which take away from "more-worthy" projects.
For example, investing in start-ups is good but raising gluttonous amounts of money with a terrible product or business plan is bad. If we have a bunch of articles glorifying industry outsiders parking their money here, it will raise a reciprocal amount of Uber and dollar shave club clones which take away from "more-worthy" projects.
> but mostly because they are minorities.
I don't think this is true for the majority of Americans anymore in regards to sports athletes. My finger on the rather sensitive topic is it has more to do with how different groups perceive one's culture (and potential ignorance thereof) than race. You'll be hard press to find, save the few rare 0.1% fringe racists or trolls, questions around Russell Wilson's intelligence, or Patrick Mahomes, or Kobe Bryant, or Richard Sherman. If you simply google "smartest athletes" you get a pretty diverse representation of African American athletes, White athletes, and everything in between.
Also working against famous athletes, is the fact that pop culture and celebrity is generally not associated with intelligence in America on a whole.
I don't think this is true for the majority of Americans anymore in regards to sports athletes. My finger on the rather sensitive topic is it has more to do with how different groups perceive one's culture (and potential ignorance thereof) than race. You'll be hard press to find, save the few rare 0.1% fringe racists or trolls, questions around Russell Wilson's intelligence, or Patrick Mahomes, or Kobe Bryant, or Richard Sherman. If you simply google "smartest athletes" you get a pretty diverse representation of African American athletes, White athletes, and everything in between.
Also working against famous athletes, is the fact that pop culture and celebrity is generally not associated with intelligence in America on a whole.
I appreciate very much that that is your point of view. I sincerely HOPE we live in a world where men and women can be well-compensated athletes AND be intelligent, regardless of race.I think you make a great point about pop culture/celebrity.
Who says that about Chris Bosh? Almost every analysis I've heard of his time in Miami with LeBron and Wade is that he sacrificed a superstar career to be 3rd option. Bosh was insane in Toronto when he was "the" guy.
In Miami with LeBron and Wade they were called "The 3 Kings"
He won 3 rings while in Miami. He didn’t sacrifice anything.
He sacrificed numbers and the spotlight. Just look at his stats before and after. Of course there was a major upside, not saying otherwise. He sacrificed but for the greater good of winning rings and it worked but he still sacrificed. However in terms of him riding their coattails, I've never heard anyone say that.
2 rings.
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Reminds of a fact about Kobe - apparently he made $196 million on a sports drink investment after retirement.
https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/kobe-bryants-6m-investment-spo...
https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/kobe-bryants-6m-investment-spo...
People who think Chris Bosh was riding anyone's coattails clearly don't know anything about Chris Bosh or basketball. First of all, he already showed he was a superstar in his own regard with the Raptors, where he left being the franchise's all-time record holder in points, rebounds, blocks, and minutes played. Second, there is a such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, and so Chris Bosh understanding this, elected to do what it took to win a championship rather than trying to inflate statistics, and he played his role exceptionally. If you have ever read Bill Simmons' "Book of Basketball" he describes this as "The Secret"
(Thank you for this rare opportunity to talk sports on HN!)
(Thank you for this rare opportunity to talk sports on HN!)
I usually shut down Bosh haters with "He has 2 rings, is an 11 time All Star, and has an Olympic Gold Medal. The number of people with half that resume who aren't in the HOF is ZERO. He's a first ballot guy no question."
He also grabbed the rebound and threw the ball to Ray Allen for a game winning shot. He was a hard worker who improved his 3pt shot when we went to Miami, knowing he needed to space the floor. He understood what team mentality meant for success.
Bosh grabbed the rebound because of arguably one of the worst coaching decisions in NBA history; that being to sit one of the greatest defenders ever (Duncan) on the bench for the most important defensive possession of the season.
Bosh would not have been able to reach over Duncan to get the rebound and it would have been over. To this day, I still cannot comprehend what Popovich was thinking.
That being said, Bosh definitely deserves a spot in the HoF. He was a MVP candidate his final year before leaving for Miami. A lot of people totally forget this.
Bosh would not have been able to reach over Duncan to get the rebound and it would have been over. To this day, I still cannot comprehend what Popovich was thinking.
That being said, Bosh definitely deserves a spot in the HoF. He was a MVP candidate his final year before leaving for Miami. A lot of people totally forget this.
“How underperforming tech companies trick pro ballers for investment funding.”
Jokes aside, I respect the hell out of athletes who realize their timeframe is limited and pursue business opportunities like this. They bring an interesting, outside perspective on what can be a Very niche world.
A couple years ago I went to a cryptocurrency conference only because Kobe was the keynote speaker and honestly I wanted to bash him (hate the lakers). But despite the general idiocy of the conference he shared some very insightful comments about his thoughts on economics, investments, business, etc.
Jokes aside, I respect the hell out of athletes who realize their timeframe is limited and pursue business opportunities like this. They bring an interesting, outside perspective on what can be a Very niche world.
A couple years ago I went to a cryptocurrency conference only because Kobe was the keynote speaker and honestly I wanted to bash him (hate the lakers). But despite the general idiocy of the conference he shared some very insightful comments about his thoughts on economics, investments, business, etc.
Sports Illustrated had a great article about why athletes go broke: https://www.si.com/vault/2009/03/23/105789480/how-and-why-at...
It seems that many athletes do realize their timeframe and try to invest so they have money afterward. Unfortunately, many make bad investments. Many athletes like the concreteness of investing in a business where you know the people, over the abstractness of putting money into an index fund, though the first comes with a lot higher risk than the second. Many times they are preyed upon by unscrupulous business people because of this.
It seems that many athletes do realize their timeframe and try to invest so they have money afterward. Unfortunately, many make bad investments. Many athletes like the concreteness of investing in a business where you know the people, over the abstractness of putting money into an index fund, though the first comes with a lot higher risk than the second. Many times they are preyed upon by unscrupulous business people because of this.
i know that there are organizations that provide business education to professional athletes. it seems to be too little however, given the stories/anecdotes you hear.
i'd go so far as to suggest that all pro athletes should be offered a mini-mba program of business courses as rookies: statistics, economics, marketing, accounting, finance, and strategy (and possibly financial valuation, operations and organizational behavior too). that way, they'd have the basic tools to evaluate the investment opportunities that will inevitably seek them out.
i'd go so far as to suggest that all pro athletes should be offered a mini-mba program of business courses as rookies: statistics, economics, marketing, accounting, finance, and strategy (and possibly financial valuation, operations and organizational behavior too). that way, they'd have the basic tools to evaluate the investment opportunities that will inevitably seek them out.
Top business schools have already tapped this lucrative market and offer offseason programs to professional athletes.
Why doesn't the NBA start an incubator where they rent out player likenesses to companies and take a percentage? That way the player gets nice endorsement money without worrying about business stuff
I don't think the players' union would be cool with that.
Sabbatical? The dude just refused to show up for his job and he still collected his $17M salary. Memphis had to just keep paying him cause it would look bad to other potential players that might come some day if they stopped paying him. Thankfully for Memphis, they traded his deadbeat-ass to Miami.
It's kind of magical how washed NBA players can keep floating around the league for years and years after their expiration dates, as long as GMs keep making mistakes and giving them contracts.
Gerald Green is still bouncing around the league as a trade chip.
Gerald Green is still bouncing around the league as a trade chip.
He also briefly interned at Merrill Lynch during the 2011 NBA lockout while the league and players’ union negotiated a new deal. It’s on his LinkedIn page [1].
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreiguodala
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreiguodala
Related: Shaq's business Empire https://money.com/shaq-business-empire/
He was interviewed by Gimlet, part of it is being a businessman
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/without-fail/brhvor
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/without-fail/brhvor
(*Chris Bosh is a Hall of Fame player and maybe the most underrated big man of the last decade. Happy to debate. LOL)
Kevin Durant spent his time in the Bay Area investing in startups and learning how the tech world worked in SV.
More and more athletes are thinking of life-after-the-sport, but just as many are also seeing themselves as businessmen DURING their careers. The biggest names want to build iconic brands, and not just brands that focus on their personal identities. Podcasts, streaming services, energy drinks, athletic gear, music, film production, technology. Young smart men (mostly) flush with cash who have been coached on the cautionary tales of the late 90's and'00s where players received mega-contracts and were broke within 5 years (see: Vince Young, Antoine Walker, Andre Rison)
One last story: I used to work in the hosting/infrastructure world and an early colleague was a very early employee at RAX. Once told me a story that Gregg Popovich (coach) and David Robinson (HOF player) of the San Antonio Spurs each put $1M into RAX when they were still doing seed investments from friends, family and connections. He told me that if both men liquidated their shares at IPO, even with the 20% dip that happened quite quickly, their individual take would have each been more than Robinson made as an NBA player in his entire career ($112M).