Who is Jamal Mashburn? Looking at business empire of former NBA All-Star

Jamal Mashburn has made the most of the $70M that he earned during his 13 years in the NBA. After a long and successful career that saw the Kentucky alum earn All-Star honors in 2003, he transitioned into life as a business owner and investor.

Unfortunately, Mashburn's career was cut short as the result of injuries. During the 2003-04 season, he played in just 19 games with the New Orleans Hornets. He then wound up sitting out during the playoffs. The injury woes didn't stop there, however.

After deciding to skip out on the 2004-05 season to undergo microfracture surgery, Mashburn was never able to bounce back. He was traded from the Hornets to the 76ers, where he wound up sitting out the 2005-06 season as well before retiring after being waived by the team.

Despite injuries plaguing him for large stretches throughout his career, Mashburn retired with a career 19.1 points per game average. Following his retirement, the entrepreneur amassed a portfolio of 100 businesses and now sets his sights on owning an NBA team.

In the years since his retirement, Mashburn has acquired 40 Papa John's Pizzas, 38 Outback Steakhouses, five car dealerships, four Dunkin Donuts, a realty company and a trash company.

In addition, he also sits as a board member of FairBridge Hotels International and he's an advisor for Revolution Global's cannabis brand. But that isn't all. One of the most admirable things about Jamal Mashburn is that he has remained active in philanthropy, including having a scholarship at his alma mater.

Jamal Mashburn's desire to own an NBA team

In addition to the fact that Jamal Mashburn is a successful business owner and entrepreneur, he's also looking to add 'NBA owner' to his list of accolades. Back in 2012, Mashburn and embattled college coach Rick Pitino looked to purchase the New Orleans Hornets.

Despite that, it was Michael Jordan who ultimately wound up acquiring the majority ownership of the team. As a result, Mashburn and Pitino pivoted, with a plan to purchase French team Elan Bearnais, in order to get the experience.

Mashburn conveyed to Andrew Petcash:

“At the end of the day, I consider myself a lifelong learner. You’ve got to adapt. Even in professional sports, you come in one way but you don’t exit the same way,” he said. That’s how I look at business.”

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Then, the duo planned to set their sights on their ultimate goal, bringing back the Seattle SuperSonics.

Of course, with a potential NBA expansion on the table in potential negotiations, there's no word whether or not an expansion will in fact happen. Despite that, it sounds as though there is a very good chance of the league entertaining the idea, and opening the door for Jamal Mashburn and Rick Pitino.

At the same time, they could have some stiff competition in LeBron James, who has been open about his desire to own a team as well. Should the league expand, both sides could either own teams or battle it out in a bidding war for one of the two.

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