Kentucky HC John Calipari's 2024 NBA All-Star snap with top basketball superstars goes viral ft. Anthony Davis
In his 14 years with Kentucky, John Calipari has overseen the growth of many NBA stars. From Anthony Davis to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, some of the league's best were all shaped under his careful watch. And now they've come together... for a photo-op.
Calipari attended the recently concluded NBA All-Star game and took the opportunity to click a picture with his former students. Captioning the photo "#LaFamilia", is a shout-out to his NIL collective. Standing with John Calipari were Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Karl Anthony Towns, Tyrese Maxey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and assistant coach Tyler Ulis.
Missing from this are Jamal Murray, De'Aaron Fox, Julius Randle, Tyler Herro, Malik Monk, Immanuel Quickley and Jarred Vanderbilt among others. Calipari is known to build excellent rapport with his players. He explained the reason for this:
“If at the end of the day, I have a chance, when it’s said and done and I’m finished, to change the lives of 70 families… This here, truly, you are impacting people.”
His efforts seem to have paid off as most of his players have gone on to cash out big in the NBA.
John Calipari brings in big talents and bucks
During an interview with SportsCenter, Calipari revealed that his Kentucky alumni have made nearly $4 billion in NBA contracts.
One of his top earners is Anthony Davis, who signed a three-year, $186 million max contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers last summer. This is the richest in NBA history and will pay Davis $62 million annually. It is also being reported that Gilgeous-Alexander could make history by signing a $400 million contract extension in 2027.
With all these big bucks, Calipari has been able to build loyalty, which comes in handy sometimes. Last June, it was reported that Calipari has been organizing a collective coined “The La Familia Club”. It’s supposed to be a legal way to raise money and pay student-athletes beyond traditional marketing avenues.
Later, it was reported that the number was double what any other major collective in men’s college basketball had produced, with the group consisting of his trusted friends and former players. The Athletic's Kyle Tucker said:
"I’ve gotten some intel from NBA sources that John Calipari is potentially tapping into his former players, among others, on a unique NIL project that has been in the works for months but is picking up steam now."
While there were no further reports on this, Calipari's recent tweet could be a big hint.
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