🏀Smartest NBA Players in Business💸

Author

Jatin Hasija
November 11, 2025

Welcome to Buckets and Riches — where NBA stars don’t just shoot threes, they stack Gs. From tunnel fits worth mortgages to endorsement empires and crypto hiccups, we break down how basketball’s elite earn it, flex it, and sometimes… brick it. 🏀💸

The latest edition of our newsletter covers:

  • Golden State’s Golden Investor

  • Mamba Mentality Meets Wall Street

  • The Billion-Dollar Playmaker

💸Big Shots, Big Rewards

Stephen Curry: Building an Empire Beyond the Arc

Stephen Curry has redefined the way the game of basketball is played. And his hard work and dedication have paid off in the form of four Championships, 2 MVP awards, a Finals MVP prize, and countless other laurels. However, he has always aimed to be more than just a basketball player, and Curry’s off-court work is no less impressive by any means. 

At the heart of his off-court empire is Thirty Ink, the firm that manages his investments, partnerships, and philanthropic work. With Curry serving as the CEO, Thiry Ink “underscores Stephen’s passion for making an impact beyond the game of basketball by challenging the status quo, with the ultimate vision to inspire by Elevating the Under."

Curry has made strategic investments in Penny Jar Capital, Tonal, PLEZi Nutrition, and Nirvana Water Sciences. Each of the investments reflects his core values: Innovation, wellness, and long-term impact. 

Penny Jar invests in early-stage startups focused on education and opportunity, while Tonal’s connected fitness technology mirrors Curry’s dedication to performance.

Curry’s business portfolio doesn’t just stop with his investments, though. He has built a multimedia company, Unanimous Media, with the name giving a nod to him being the only unanimous MVP in NBA History. Since its founding in 2020, Unanimous Media has produced projects like Stephen Curry: Underrated on Apple TV+,  Breakthrough with 20th Century Fox, and Allen Iv3rson on Amazon Prime. The company has collaborations with Sony and Audible as well.

Curry’s partnership with Under Armour is a cornerstone of his brand. What started off as a random choice by his daughter, Riley, in October 2013, has grown into one of the most successful athlete-brand partnerships in sports. In 2023, Curry signed a lifetime contract and became President of the Curry Brand, overseeing everything from product designs to community outreach programs. 

While Stephen’s wife, Ayesha, already has her wine label, Domaine Curry Wines, with his sister Sydel Curry-Lee, the Warriors legend stepped into the lifestyle arena with his bourbon label, Gentlemen’s Cut. Launched in 2023, Gentlemen’s Cut is his take on craftsmanship and legacy,  a brand built on refinement and storytelling. 

More recently, Curry opened The Eighth Rule, a private speakeasy in San Francisco that blends elegance, exclusivity, and community.

Among all his ventures, the one that’s closest to Steph is the foundation he runs with his wife, Eat. Learn. Play. The foundation has provided millions of meals, built playgrounds, and funded educational programs for children across the Bay Area. 

Whether it’s on the court or off it, Curry is showing professional athletes how to build things the right way. His goal is to leave a legacy that is not just defined by his actions on the court but by how he touched the lives around him.

💸 Moneyball Moments

In 2011, LeBron James invested less than $1 million in Blaze Pizza. A decade later, that stake was reportedly worth over $40 million, after the chain grew from two locations to more than 300 worldwide. It’s one of the smartest off-court business moves in modern sports, proof that LeBron saw value long before Wall Street did.

💰Mamba’s Moves

Kobe Bryant’s Perfectionism Led to Timely Investments

It would be quite unwise to believe Kobe Bryant did not apply the same ‘Mamba Mentality’ that drove his training and game to his finances. Toward the tail-end of his 20-year career, Kobe teamed up with venture capitalist Jeff Stibel and launched a $100 million investment fund.

Through this fund, they invested in companies that they deemed promising. “It’s that persistence, the entrepreneur doing what he or she truly believes in and truly loves to do,” Kobe had once said on what gets him amped about his investment journey.

Bryant’s most successful venture was his investment of a ‘mere’ $6 million in BodyArmor back in 2013. This earned him a 10% stake in the company.

After numerous adverts and commercial campaigns with Kobe at the forefront of marketing for the sports drink, the brand’s value skyrocketed. By 2021, Coca-Cola bought complete control of BodyArmor for an otherworldly $5.6 billion.

It’s quite unfortunate that Kobe’s death meant he never got to personally see that his $6 million investment led to the Bryant estate netting $400 million with that sale. Co-founder Mike Repole credited the Lakers legend for the ascension that ‘BodyArmor’ saw.

“If it wasn’t for Kobe Bryant’s vision and belief, BodyArmor would not have been able to achieve the success we had,” Repole had said after the Coca-Cola takeover. These words from Repole summarize the essence of Kobe’s perfectionism.

His drive to constantly topple the best of the best in any field that he enters to reign supreme was unmatched. The fact that he won an Oscar for Dear Basketball is a sign that he was destined for greatness in whatever field he enters. Well, ‘destined’ might be doing him a bit of injustice as Kobe was the type of man who could alter his destiny at will and mold it to his liking through sheer willpower and effort.

Aside from BodyArmor, Bryant also invested in companies like LegalZoom, Epic Games (makers of Fortnite), Alibaba, and The Honest Company. These all led to him further establishing a stronghold over the investment community and making it clear that he means business.

Kobe had even launched his own multimedia company, Granity Studios, which produced Dear Basketball.

Bryant’s investment advice? “What comes next [post-retirement]? What can I do? What is my passion? Not where I can create the most value or revenue, but what is my next passion? When you find that next passion, then everything else will make sense. That’s the hardest part for us.”

🏀 The Chosen One 💰

LeBron James: First Active Player to Become a Billionaire

When LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003, he didn’t just want to be great; he wanted to control the narrative in and around the league. Two decades later, he’s not just a legend on the hardwood but also a boardroom force with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion as of 2025.

At the heart of his empire is The SpringHill Company, a media venture he co-founded with his longtime friend Maverick Carter. In 2021, they sold a minority stake valued at $725 million. The company has since produced hits like The Shop, the second Space Jam, and a lineup of documentaries, sports features, and branded content. 

Of course, not every chapter of this business journey of his has been perfect. In 2023, SpringHill posted a $28 million loss on $104 million in revenue. Growing fast in Hollywood isn’t cheap. But that hasn’t slowed the vision with which the company is run.

LeBron’s moves go beyond media, of course. In 2012, he invested less than $1 million in Blaze Pizza, a startup that exploded into one of the fastest-growing chains in America. By 2017, his stake was reportedly worth between $35 and $40 million. 

Then there’s Fenway Sports Group, the owners of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, and more. LeBron became one of the few athletes with real equity in global sports properties by buying into Fenway. It’s ownership on a different level. 

All of this was by design. LeBron didn’t want to just endorse brands. He wanted to build them. He didn’t want to get paid; he wanted a piece of the upside. 

The team around him, Carter, Rich Paul, and Randy Mims, mapped out the blueprint early. Get in the room. Get the equity. Tell your own stories. And never just take the check if you can write it. Legacy isn’t just about banners in the rafters anymore. LeBron is showing that real legacy is what you own when the buzzer sounds.

🏀 Shot Clock Back: NBA Stat of the Year

In 1996, Michael Jordan earned $30.1 million from the Bulls, the first $30M salary in NBA history. It was more than the combined payroll of 19 other NBA teams that season, marking the start of players becoming brands, not just athletes. Jordan’s one-year deal foreshadowed the era of supermax contracts and billion-dollar off-court empires.