Isiah Thomas set the benchmark for NBA players dabbling in multi-faceted business ventures. He went from winning NBA championships to expanding the NBA, to selling champagne. His revolutionizing of the retired NBA player is what landed him on the cover of Forbes in 1994, becoming the first NBA player to do so.

He’s a Forbes favorite, now serving on the Advisory Council of the newly launched ForbesBLK Summit. Commemorating their decades old connection, Forbes presented the NBA legend the December 1994 cover rendered in a glass trophy.

Thomas shared the 360° view of the cover’s glass rendition on Instagram with the caption, “Thank you @forbesblk_ @forbes first @nba player on the cover #1 rated low sugar @cheurlin1788 Champagne @meijerstores @happycorkbrooklyn @ackerwines First press is the best press Champagne @totalwine.” 

After leading the ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ era with two championships, Zeke retired from playing in 1994. His entrepreneurial ventures began before that under his holdings group, Isiah Investments, LLC. In 1992, he purchased a bankrupt printing company, American Speedy Printing Centers Inc., turned it profitable, and eventually sold it. This business acumen landed him on the cover of Forbes.

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The NBA cashed in on Zeke’s globalizing potential too. They entrusted him with the NBA expansion into Canada by making him VP of the Toronto Raptors of which he was a part-owner in 1994. He once told Forbes that managing a franchise outside the US was a game-changing experience for him.

It’s his recognition in the wine business though that he equated to winning an NBA title.

Champagne extraordinaire, Isiah Thomas

Thomas used the present from Forbes to celebrate his most successful business yet, Cheurlin Champagnes. He went from investor to sole owner of the brand that earned him the title, Champagne Producer of the Year by the New York International Wine Competition in 2018 and 2019. He told Forbes it felt as great as winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.

He purchased Cheurlin in 2015 and since acquired enough knowledge about wine-making and the industry. He was most fascinated by the grape, learning about growers, soil, and the Champagne region of France.

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It speaks of Zeke as a profound investor who goes the extra mile to learn about the industry. It makes him the perfect fit in the ForbesBLK community.

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