Isiah Thomas is placing his family at the center of his business pursuits.

The Chicago native was in the 1981 NBA draft and selected as a No. 2 overall pick by the Detroit Pistons, according to Basketball Reference. He led the team to victory in two NBA finals in 1989 and 1990, Vocal Media reported. He remained in the league for 13 years, securing accolades such as 12-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-Star MVP, a Finals MVP, a Hall of Famer, and one of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players, according to the Basketball Network.

“He was a fierce competitor, leaving everything he had on the court,” Magic Johnson said, per ESPN. “He did whatever was necessary to lead his team to victory.”

Retirement From The NBA

Thomas retired in 1994 with an estimated $16.7 million in earnings, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

In a conversation with Forbes writer and editor, Jabari Young, Thomas said he paid it forward to his family. He was raised by a single mother in a financially insecure household on Chicago’s West Side with six brothers and two sisters. Thomas said he experienced homelessness, gang violence, and exposure to drug use during his childhood, and admitted he spent all his NBA earnings on ensuring his family could escape poverty.

“I spent all my NBA money cleaning up my family, laying the foundation so they’ll have a chance to get out of poverty: my nieces, my nephews, my kids, my cousins,” Thomas told Young. “I still have some that don’t eat or are living in hard times, but for the most part, the thing that I’m most proud of is that most of my nieces, nephews, when they go to the refrigerator, there’s some food in the refrigerator. When they leave their job, they have a house to go to, an apartment to stay in, and most of them have either graduated from college, or had two-three years of college.”

Post-league, Thomas continued to grow his and his family’s economic opportunities. In 1990, he established the holding company, Isiah International LLC, Basketball Networks reports. According to its website, its portfolio includes sports, entertainment, champagne imports, hemp and cannabis, real estate, and construction.

In addition to Isiah International LLC, Thomas is the sole owner of three other companies, per the holding company’s website. These include GRE3N, a utility management business; Isiah International Real Estate, a multi-housing development firm; and Isiah Capital, a private equity investment firm.

What’s more, Thomas shared in his Forbes interview that he has also created opportunities for his nephews and nieces by providing them with six-month internships at his companies so they can be equipped in the corporate world.