Grant Hill is a former NBA superstar and Duke Blue Devils icon. The Detroit Pistons drafted him as a first-round pick in 1994, which marked his entry into the NBA. Hill began his basketball career early, as an outstanding high school and college player. Colleges began to notice his basketball skills during his freshman year in high school, leading to his recruitment.
While in high school, he won the Amateur Athletic Union award for the most valuable player in the national championships. He was a member of the US junior national team and won a gold medal at the junior championships.
At Duke University, he helped the Blue Devils win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball championship in 1991 and 1992. Following his impressive career at Duke University, the institution retired his uniform number after his graduation.
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Despite getting huge contract offers, he decided to finish a bachelor’s degree in history before starting his NBA career. The American NBA star was also a member of the second “Dream Team,” the basketball team that represented the United States in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
After his career with the Pistons, he joined the Orlando Magic before joining the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2012–13 season. After 19 seasons in the NBA, Hill reinvented himself as an entrepreneur.
He observed athletes grappling with financial issues after their careers concluded, which greatly influenced his perspective. His father, a graduate of Yale University, played football for the Dallas Cowboys, so Hill had an idea of the challenges athletes face post-retirement.
Throughout his playing career, he amassed over $100 million in career earnings and has now invested in several huge real estate projects, including a $5 billion development in Atlanta, according to CNBC. Experts estimate his net worth to be $250 million today.
Since 2015, Hill has been a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks and vice chairman of the team’s board. He and his wife, Canadian singer Tamia, became part owners of Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer and the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League. According to CNBC, he also invests in the NBA’s $1 billion Africa business.
He also runs a marketing and management company called Hill Ventures, which has invested and developed over $200 million in projects throughout Florida and North Carolina. He also joined commercial real estate investment firm CIM Group to invest in Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development in Atlanta, one of his latest investments. He and his partners are turning a vacant railyard into a $5 billion mix of restaurants, hotels and offices. In 2022, he mentioned that the downtown project would take seven to 10 years to complete.
The former NBA player attributed his passion for real estate to his parents. In 2000 when he entered the real estate industry, he was with the Magic but went on to invest in multifamily units and office space buildings in central Florida.
Hill is also interested in art collections. He has been collecting black art pieces since the 1990s. The NBA Hall of Famer said he owns art pieces by Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, painter Norman Lewis, and Hank Willis Thomas.
