Getting drafted or hired by an NBA franchise can change the fortunes of athletes from all over the world and the people around them. Stories of league players picking themselves off of streets and moving into mansions within the span of a day have made headlines but not all of the stars have had the same first buys.
1. Shaquille O’Neal
According to Business Insider, Shaquille O’Neal blew over $1 million in one day. He went on to buy two $150,000 Mercedes Benz cars, one for himself and another one for his father. Hours later, his mother said that she wanted the smaller version of the ride so Shaq spent $100,000 on the smaller version.
He then paid off his mother’s house and spent the rest of the million dollars doing “what all the homeboys do — gotta buy rings and diamonds and earrings and this and that.”
2. LeBron James
Back in 2003, when LeBron James got his first multi-million dollar paycheck from the deal he signed with Nike, he straight away went to the bank and deposited it. Although, he did withdraw $2,000 that day while saving 99% of his earnings from the check for his future, according to an ESPN report.
At 18-years of age, he used the $2,000 to take his best friend to an amusement park, James’ former PR manager Chris Dennis recalled in the interview.
3. Klay Thompson
In an episode of Uninterrupted’s “Kneading Dough” Warriors star Klay Thompson made a revelation about how he spent his first NBA dime. Making just over $2 million in his first season in the NBA, the first thing that Thompson spent his money on was a pool table, which he still owns!
“I’m pretty simple,” Thompson said. “My tastes aren’t that extravagant.”
4. Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown is the kind of guy who is known for his out-of-the-box thinking and upon listening to him during an episode of Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson-led show ‘All The Smoke’, you’d know that he has matured well as a 23-year-old.
A music enthusiast, Brown went on to buy a piano for himself with the first check that he got, even though he doesn’t know how to play it. Although, his former teammate, Al Horford said that he is learning the craft, alongside learning a foreign language. “He’s out there trying different things and trying to challenge himself,” said Al in a YouTube video.
5. Andre Iguodala
The kind of things Andre Iguodala went on to do in the second half of the career with the Golden State Warriors makes him worthy of the kind of money he earns right now. But back when he was just 20-years-old and got himself a four-year $9 million contract with the NBA, he didn’t know how to spend all that dough.
Iggy told Wealthsimple that out of the first $25,000 he earned in the summer ahead of his rookie season, he blew a very small portion of it, on buying “a whole bunch of pairs of Jordans,” he says. “I spent like two or three grand and it felt like I spent a million dollars.
6. Harrison Barnes
Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes wanted to buy a nice bed for himself with the first big buck that he was going to make and so he went ahead and did exactly that. In an interview with CNBC Make It, Barnes said: “For me, growing up, really having a nice bed was something that I always wanted.”
“I definitely tried out every bed in the mattress store,” he said. “You have the ability and are fortunate enough to be able to choose whatever you want, which was new for me. Usually, whatever store I walked in, I’m buying the cheapest thing possible, if that. So to be able to go into a mattress store and say, ‘I’m going to choose the bed I want to sleep on,’ and choose one of the nicer ones, that was pretty cool.”
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