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Jamal Mashburn - Former NBA All-Star

Former NBA All-star Jamal Mashburn has worked his way through life using the lessons instilled in him by his mother at a young age as a boy growing up in Harlem. A self-made man, Jamal is a gifted athlete, an insightful entrepreneur, a dedicated husband and father, and an incredibly motivating speaker.

With a successful 12-season NBA career, Jamal retired with an impressive 19.1 points per game average and is the third youngest player to ever score 50 or more points in a single game. He was selected 4th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1993 draft and had a home on the teams of the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets as well. He played 14 minutes in the NBA All-Star game in 2003, scoring 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Jamal’s is an inspiring story. He is especially keen on the college market. Helping young people at a time in their lives when the strongest impact can be made is something that makes Jamal feel he has come full circle.

Sharing his story from start to finish is the best way he feels he can relate what he wants his audience to learn, so that is exactly what we’ll do here. An insight into Jamal’s journey gives a clear focus of what he has to say, and why it has value to corporate and special event audiences.

Jamal’s father was a professional athlete and from a young age Jamal learned what it meant to be competitive. “I was about 10 years old when I started playing basketball, but even before then I saw the other side of professional sports in my father’s career as a boxer. He fought Ken Norton, sparred with Muhammad Ali and had a lot of interaction with some of the great heavyweight fighters of the 70’s. He ended up having to give it up, because he just wasn’t making the money we needed. He had to find something else to do, and I took a strong lesson from that. At a young age, I made a decision to be an independent thinker in life. I knew I wanted to be someone who made his own choices. I would not be backed into a corner either because I couldn’t physically perform or because something wasn’t monetarily feasible. In doing that, I had to do a lot of research to figure out how to get that next level. I chose my college based on that. I tried to constantly look beyond the gratification of the moment.”

Jamal attended the University of Kentucky because of the school’s educational aspects, along with the strength of its basketball program. “Coach Rick Pitino, who was a former NBA coach, definitely had something to do with me attending UKY, but it was important for me to not rely on the short-term and sports. I always focused on my long-term vision of where I wanted to be in the future, and how to plan and transition into that.”

This is where Jamal says his mother really made the difference in his life. “She did a great job of taking me out of my comfort zone and normal environment when I was younger. She let me see things beyond Harlem; she took me to museums, restaurants, taught me how to order food and about other culture in general. She brought reality to the home from the beginning for me. Plan your work and work your plan, that is always how I have lived my life.”

One unique thing about Jamal is that he stands out from the stereotypical image of the professional athlete. Concerned with far more than just his jump shot, Jamal says that even at a young age he had a fascination with being a businessman. “Even as a boy, I always wanted to carry a briefcase, not be a professional basketball player. I remember taking trains downtown to go to my Catholic middle school and seeing people on the trains wearing suits and carrying briefcases. I was always curious as to what was in those briefcases, so I started a plan on how I was going to carry one.”

This goal was slightly complicated by Jamal’s notion of himself as being a freethinker; he knew he wouldn’t be able to work a 9-5 for someone else. “That’s when I knew I would have to be an entrepreneur. Basketball was simply one of my vehicles to get there. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game and loved playing it, but it was never what I was focusing on for the long term. I now own quite a few car dealerships and other businesses that I started while I was playing basketball.”

In addition to staying involved in professional basketball as an announcer for ESPN, Jamal has prosperous interests in several different forms. He has dealerships with Toyota, Lexus, Porsche and Nissan to name a few, and holds a stake in OI Memorial Stable (who has a potential Kentucky Derby prospect), which he co-owns with his former coach Rick Pitino and Outback Steakhouse Co-founder Chris T. Sullivan, whose restaurants Jamal is also a partner in. “Basketball was a bridge, it paved the way. Even though I enjoyed playing it, it has given me stability and has allowed me to go around the world and meet a lot of great people, but it was never the be-all and end-all. I had a purpose besides scoring points or winning championships or playing on television. ”

Now for many people, trying to make any sort of a go at a career in a professional sports arena may seem like a daunting task (especially after seeing a close relative struggle with it), but Jamal explains that for him, it was one of the few opportunities available to make it. “For me, growing up in New York City and Harlem, there is not a lot that you are exposed to and opportunities you are given. I mean that in the sense of the school systems being poor and inadequately equipped, crime and gangs and violence. There are a lot of things that could distract or deter you from attaining certain goals. My mom told me when I was about 10 years old that she knew I was thinking about college and the only way that would be possible was if I got a scholarship. I knew what level someone had to be on academically to get there and for me, the easiest way seemed to be playing a sport.”

Once Jamal got through his impressive career with UKY and was in the NBA, he wasn’t swept up by fortune and fame thereby dumping all of his money and talent in partying. “Don’t get me wrong, I have had my fair share of experiences (chuckles), but one of the things I was always clear about when I was in the NBA was why I was playing basketball. I can tell you from point A to point B how I got there and exactly what I wanted to do. I know a lot of guys who couldn’t do that, and it gives others the ability to move them around and make decisions for them. I was always the person that wanted to make independent decisions and have my own purpose for playing basketball. You hear a lot of guys talking about winning championships on the court; I always wanted to win championships in life. I didn’t want to have all of the glory from scoring 60 points in a game; those things are fleeting. I wanted to set an example for myself and my kids, who I also thought about as a younger man. How did I want to lead my life? What kind of example would I set? Did I want to have to be like my father and make the decision to leave something he loved because he didn’t have the right relationships or connections? I wanted to map out my goals and obstacles and be prepared to meet every one of them head on.”

Jamal is the type of guy who seeks out challenges now just to test himself. “If you do that enough, you will know how you will respond to certain situations when your back is up against the wall. That is always how I have done things.”

Jamal retired from the NBA at what would be considered a young age by most, especially since he was still nearly at the peak of his effectiveness when he did decide to bow out. In fact, Jamal is one of only six players since 1970 (the others include names like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird) to average at least 20 points per game in his final season. “People ask me, ‘Well, why did you retire?’ I have to sit down and explain ‘Look, I had other reasons for playing and retiring. Sometimes you have to know when to make your exit. ”

And despite rumors of a knee injury causing his retirement, Jamal has been able to do what he wants to. And what he really wants to do now is spread his message of perseverance, setting clear goals, and being realistic in one’s priorities and ambitions. “Injuries are the nature of the sport and a lot of people think it was the knee injury that put me out. It did to some extent from a physical standpoint, but mentally I had left the building already because I was doing so many things off-court that were much more important for me. I was talking about car dealerships and investments; that kind of thing is pretty hard to find inside of an NBA locker room.”

It’s going to be pretty hard to find a speaker as intelligent, articulate and uniquely experienced as Jamal Mashburn anywhere. He has a huge draw for athletics fans, is amiable enough to woo your grandma, and makes his imposing 6’ 8” frame seem perfectly approachable. Consider bringing this all-star to your event today.

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Eilien Potter
(859) 509-4821