Sports professor Ricardro inside the what was $1.3 trillion.
Now, according to the Davos study, $2.6 trillion business of sports, we doubled almost overnight.
Now a lot of it is because of people that I'm interviewing today who have hopped on the investment train and taken it to an entirely different level.
Baron Davis, two-time NBA All-Star, successful entrepreneur, and more and more and more.
You don't want to hear from me, you want to hear from him.
Hi, Baron, how are you doing?
How are you?
Good to see you, boss.
What's happening, Rick?
Everything is really damn good, and I'm telling you, I'll see you at the NBA All-Star Super Bowl.
All of that, we're coming out to you along with the Patriots, along with the Seahawks.
Everybody talking football, but basketball teams going at a record pace as well.
So let's get to that.
Um, 46 years ago, I'm sure you don't remember the day, but it's April 13th.
And the world gets an entrepreneur they've never had before.
Early in your life, did you ever think that you were going to end up not only being in the NBA but being one of the best, uh, investors, uh, entrepreneurs of, of the modern era, let's say.
Uh, you know, I, I, my hope and dream was always to make it to the NBA.
I think once I got there, it was kind of like, you know, I would say it was a, you know, a trying journey, right?
Being a kid from South Central who went to a privileged private school and, you know, just try to navigate two worlds.
And I think when I got to the NBA I learned that You know, we have enough resources to actually take care of our community, but at the same time, it was, man, there's a whole world of like interesting people that work in and around our sport, right, that are like highly intelligent.
And so for me, I think the privileged side of, you know, having Hollywood and those connections in your background, you started, you start to look out and venture and say, hey, I'm a creative.
I want to do creative things.
And so, it was really about those 1st 3 years listening and learning, taking an internship, seeing who I wanted to be when I grew up, right?
And then that first opportunity when I got a chance to become my own agent.
Um, you know, I started to look for deals or companies who could be not only the teacher and the mentor, right, but the the opportunity that I could help take advantage of and help them take advantage of.
Me and my celebrity at the time.
Was was part of your decision to go from Crossroads to UCLA.
You wanted to stay home.
You like the legacy, you like the tradition, you like the history, but it was also, you were near Hollywood and you can kind of keep one eye open to stuff that you really may want to do down the road.
Yeah, it was always like, I always thought that I would be a filmmaker and I enjoyed, you know, the stories and You know, just the, the characters that were in the locker room.
I think going to UCLA was really about, you know, um, growing as a professional, growing the network, establishing, you know, a presence in LA, um, and meeting all the right people.
And so, for me, it was also about living under that legacy.
Right.
Who Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, uh, was at school and who he is, what Bill Walton stood for, what Coach Wooden stood for, um, you know, Ed O'Bannon, and so, you know, you're around these people, and I think the goal is to like adopt their greatness.
And, you know, what, what you want to embody.
And so I think it was really about being an athlete with a voice, but also being somebody that was directly from the inner city of Los Angeles that got an opportunity to go to UCLA.
Yeah, I, I think I already kind of know the answer to this question, but the takeaway from UCLA, I assume, is not just the X's and O's.
How to steal a basketball and how to make a 3 point shot, but also the Abdul-Jabbars, the Woodens, the Bill Waltons, Ed O'Bannon is a great example because of what he's done from a legal perspective in the business too.
So, you know, the takeaway sounds like it transcendent X's and O's.
Yeah, it, it, it really did.
Like when you start thinking about, you know, that next level of community, right?
The people at UCLA did a great job of helping raise me, right, nurture me, and then even now, you know, uh, have a place where I can go back to and network and, you know, learn from even, you know, more incredible people that, you know, are on the, that have already taken the journey that I'm taking now.
Yeah, so you're an All-American and you're an All-American, uh, freshman sophomore year and history tradition, great, but you turned pro.
What, what went into your mind about turning pro when you did?
My goal was to get to the NBA.
I think, um, you know, I wanted to make it to college.
I think UCLA was, you know, a smart decision for my brand, but, you know, the ultimate goal was to get to the NBA.
I got hurt in college, you know, I wanted to come back another year, but I just think that, you know, because of my draft stock that I was able to, I mean, the decision was kind of made for itself, right, um.
If you're a top 10 pick, you gotta go.
So Stefon Mulberry, uh, people like that were calling like, hey man, um, hey buddy, you gotta come out, right?
Like it's, it's your time.
So, you know, that, that kind of really weighed into my decision was I had put in the work and I knew that I would be a top 10 pick.
Um, and I felt confident about, you know, really taking that next step in, in, in my basketball journey.
I wanted to, I wanted to play against the greats, right?
You know, you want to win a national championship, but at the same time, you see some of the greatest players in the game, they're starting to get a little old, and it's like, man, if I could ever play against a John Stockton.
Right.
That would, that would complete the dream of, of, of my childhood.
It's 1999 and you're drafted 3rd and the Hornets are there.
They're up and coming.
They've had somewhat of a history.
How do you feel, I assume if you're a top 10 pick, you're going to be drafted by somebody that needs a lot of work and you're ready to work with them to get better.
Well, the funny thing was the Hornets had just missed the playoffs the year before.
And so, you know, I was walking into a veteran squad that really only needed a couple pieces and like just small small contributors with talent, and I think that, you know, when I went to Charlotte, it was, you know, they had the team, they had the vets, right, they had the leadership, um, and then it was, you know.
The opportunity for me that I didn't really get was the opportunity was to come in and start.
And so being a rookie, you know, you just kind of sit there and, you know, you play your minutes, you learn, uh, but then I think that's what, you know, helped me.
I got into my first playoff series as a rookie against Philadelphia, playing against the great Allen Iverson, and so what kind of better lesson, right, and what kind of better introduction to like the playoffs.
Then playing against Allen Iverson, you know, I'm coming off the bench, but then that's where I think, you know, the coaches really saw that I was built for this league, and, you know, even though I never got a chance to start and improve that during the season, the playoffs is where you earn your name and your stripes.
Yeah, but not but, and you played 13 seasons in the Hornets, the Clippers, the Warriors, the Cavaliers, the Knicks.
And on and on and on, you have the ability, being one of the smart guys in the room to adapt to all of these different circumstances.
Have players generally changed over the years and most specifically 13 years from start to finish?
Did you notice a change then? you, you know, on the way out, you started to see guys that were really Starting to set up, you know, their family office, they were, you know, partnering with the people that I was seeking out earlier in my career.
So there were, you know, um, the, you know, the, the head of, you know, uh, the executive director at, let's say, uh, a large magazine at the time would go and partner with an athlete and start a media company or someone would leave an agency and start their agency and partner with a company.
I mean, partner with an athlete.
And so you start seeing more of this ecosystem starting to align, investors starting to believe that sports is this young ecosystem that's growing, right?
And, you know, I kind of stand in the middle and listen and hear and see.
And so, I think, you know, the opportunistic side for me was Um, I get to look at what the young guys are doing and know that I was young, listen to them, right?
Uh, and I always say I like to be lucky instead of being the smartest person, right?
And so, you know, for me it's put yourself around people who are awesome, who know awesome people and incredible people, and that's where a great deal flow comes in.
And so I'm able to stand.
You know, sort of in the middle of culture and tech and music and um entertainment and really just kind of see what the trends, the landscape, and who are the people that are really looking to align with each other, right?
And, you know, hopefully become, you know, that talent finder, that matchmaker, that connector that allows people to experience success.
And so that kind of started my mission.
As an entrepreneur, you know, knowing where I wanted to go life after basketball and, you know, being that business connect, being that, you know, creative collaborator, and being the host with the most was kind of, you know, my aim of, you know, now I know who I want to be when I grow up.
Well, and we'll get to that as that's the core of the interview in just a second, but if I am a student of the game and I look at stats that say Example, 2.28 steals per game in the NBA playoff, a record, and the Steels' leader in 2004 to 2007.
What I see is a guy committed to defense, a guy committed to detail, the guy that's one step ahead of the guy on the other side of the ball, and all good things that translate well into business.
Am I overreading it?
No, you're right.
You have to, you know, you have to think defense first, right?
You know, uh, you have to be able to study your opponent.
I think you have to be able to, I, I mean, defense is, is effort and hard work and, and a mentality, right?
Um, and so it, it, it doesn't.
It doesn't take a lot for someone to become a good defender, right?
But it's just, it's a commitment.
And I think, you know, when you relate that to being an entrepreneur, an investor, it's like you got to be totally committed.
And so, like, you know, the, the glitz and the glamour of being able to invest means that you have to really do a good job of Having a diligent structure, the right people around you, the right advice, and you have to be super thorough with like knowing who your opponent is or knowing who that entrepreneur is.
And so I think that's kind of like helped me a lot, right?
By knowing that it's always a defensive mentality first because you build with your defense and, you know, if your defense is good enough, you get easy buckets or easy opportunities, right?
Yeah, so it's 14 years ago or so, and you're leaving the Knicks.
I think that was the last team you were at with the NBA and you had media and business ventures thought about, if not only lined up.
Was there a clear strategy of how you got into this diverse set of investments, entrepreneurship, and production, because they're all overlapping, but they're all materially different as far as how you get in.
What was your strategy for transition?
Well, my transition strategy was listen and learn.
Um, and if there was an industry that I was curious about, I would go and like, you know, basically put myself through, you know, what I would consider business school, right?
And so I would go to the conferences, I go to the summits, the festivals, and, you know, I get to know the right people and really start building community, you know, uh, being a part of the community allowed me to build community, which allows me to create my own little collective of, of, of masterminds, right?
And, you know, you get a, a broader view of what that world and what that scope looks like.
And so, I would say, you know, for me, it's really about being an architect.
Right, and looking at, you know, where are these industries, uh, crossing over, whether they cross-pollinate, you know, whether they collide, where is there friction, you know, are they on the same, on the same parallel street, right?
But in going in two different directions, right?
Um, and so, You know, a lot of those things for me is just how do you create an architecture that allows people to know that, hey, you do the same thing, you're just in a different industry.
Hey, this, you know, this, this executive, right, uh, you know, a major network is no different.
Than the president of a WNBA franchise.
It's the same responsibilities.
It's just different codes.
And so, you know, really just taking that listening and learning experience, jumping in different industries, allowing myself to learn from masterminds, making an investment, and so looking at that investment as like a degree, right?
And so will this degree.
And consumer products, you know, pay off, but I did reward myself by going through the process and saying, hey, I'm not an expert, but like if I'm betting on myself and my, you know, where I think, you know, my strategy aligns, then I'm going to play and bet on these three companies.
I'll tell you.
Yeah, I was just going to say that it sounds like a very unusual dose of humility for a professional athlete, which suits you very well getting into a business that are compatible businesses, but you've got to know where the compatibility is and where it's not.
Tell us about business inside the game.
Our business aside again is, you know, kind of I say my lifelong work and, you know, I was really studying, um, a lot of different apps and social apps and networking apps and platforms from LinkedIn and Crunchbase to, you know, um.
Different dating apps, right?
Uh, matchmaking apps, and it was really like, how do we turn this into a way where business leaders in different categories, but also in the same categories can have the right opportunity to, to align.
And so I start really looking at You know, I've spent all this time networking and going to conferences, you know, how do I capture all of these great people or cards or entrepreneurs and, you know, like what is my Russian roulette ranking system of, you know, response time or callback or follow up, and so, you know, I start rabbit holing into technology and looking at, well, is there a place.
Or is there a club where I can join to learn about consumer products, right, or learn about sports, right, or learn about the business of entertainment and learn from masterminds, and so that's what business inside the game is.
It's really a um concierge platform and membership platform for multi-hyphenate people, right?
If I wanna learn and grow, I wanna be activated and see the people in that space doing it.
And so B gives us the opportunity to network, to meet up at, you know, various different major events, right?
But also share deal flow, conversation and information.
Um, and so that connectivity for me was really.
You know, can we build a platform that's all about building community, right?
And how can we service that community, you know, with our technology that allows communities to really have a better way of connecting.
And so it's just kind of like, I think big for me is really just that connectivity between the culture, the people that don't know each other, the people that are like-minded, and it's, you know, aligning people based on their interests, right?
Based on their subject matter and, and, and allowing the right people to be in the right clubs.
It requires a keen judgment of people.
I'm sure your radar of who's to be trusted and who to deal with is pretty damn good.
I know that from having spent time with you, but it also requires a little bit of experience and substantive knowledge about a whole hell of a lot of stuff.
I mean, you produced.
Uh, successful documentaries, you invested in the right kinds of companies.
Uh, what is the appropriate mix as you choose to deal with people or investment opportunities between, you know, trusting the entrepreneur and knowing a lot about the subject matter?
Well, I think now, you know, now that I have Big is really trusting our committee and our collective, right?
And so our host or co-host, you know, they're there as the masterminds, they're there, you know, um, as that listening, learning, you know, collective, and then when we start to really get together as a committee, as a lab, and Look at deals.
I know, Rick, you're, you know, you're such a great investor with, you know, books and history on, you know, finance and, you know, understanding industries and, you know, groundbreaking, uh, products and projects and investment tools.
And so how can we take that next generation.
Right, and become like this passing of the torch, but also this shepherding and acknowledgement of the legends and our mentors that, you know, we all want to be a part of, you know, not only the part, the process, but the party as well.
And so I think that's kind of where I get super excited because every day of the week I get to meet.
With people who are super excited about building out their collective, whether it's big impact, you know, women in leadership, sports intelligence, health is wealth, and so when I start looking at my life as Baron Davis, these are all of the staple pillars and the things that I'm interested in, right?
I want to live a healthy life.
I want to support women in, you know, business and in sports, you know, sports.
I want to learn, um, you know, what ownership is like for a team, right?
In entertainment, there are, you know, content works the same way as it does in sports.
So, you know, what kind of storytelling or what does distribution look like?
And then, you know, you just start to think about all the little.
Nice collectives of people that just share expertise every day, you know, how can we transfer that to a greater audience of people who are looking to, you know, find that funnel, right, and that filter to success.
Just a couple of more.
Uh, one is when I was.
When I was pushing the Miami Heat franchise and a couple others back in the leather helmet days of the 1980s, and we got Ted Harrison to pay what was on a record 32.5 million bucks for an NBA franchise along with Minnesota and, you know, and Charlotte and Orlando, and now we see the Buss family and Walter for $10 billion for the Lakers.
You think you were born about 1520 years too too early.
Yeah man, I just, you know, I always say when I was young, I just, I just didn't know you, Ricky.
Had I known you, you know, had I known you, I, I, I probably would still be playing cause I would own the team and they would have to make a, a rule for me being able to still play heading into, you know.
My mid-40s, you gotta be able to play though.
You gotta be able to play no defense.
You steals could have been one team for, you know, 35 and under.
We could have been called the, you know, whatever, whatever.
So you'd be called 2.5 steals a legends.
You got to do 2.5 steals a game or you're cut.
The Final question for me for you is, where is Baron Davis, uh, 5 years from now.
Uh, I would say Baron Davis, 5 years from now.
I'm probably coaching my kids in high school, um, you know.
Obviously doing the work that needs to be done, and I think You know, never stop helping the next generation.
Never stop investing in the next generation of athletes and entrepreneurs.
Uh, never stop matchmaking.
And so, you know, I would say 5 years from now, uh, Rick will be headed to our 5th Super Bowl together, our 5th All-Star weekend, and our calendars will be in sync.
So as long as I'm with you, I know 5 years from now, you know, everything will be.
You know, utterly successful, but I think that, you know, that family office structure where we get to take care of, you know, the athletes and the entertainers and the entrepreneurs that we know are going to overindex, right?
And they're the ones that are gonna underindex, helping them find the space where they will overindex.
Um, that's kind of where I, I, I would like to be in 5 years.
God bless you, your mouth to God's ears.
I'll be right there with you.
Baron Davis, a credit to the entrepreneurialism in the post-career transition, bar none.
Sports professor Ricardo, sports professor, $1.3 trillion business in sports, even more.
Speak with you soon.
