Talk about a legendary lineup.
Today’s Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference featured a slate of former NBA stars, each discussing their shared passions for — no, not basketball — cannabis.
Isiah Thomas, John Salley and Al Harrington sat down with Yahoo Finance reporter Alexis Keenan for Monday’s virtual event. The lively discussion wasn’t without jest.
“I haven’t been a THC user like some of my players and teammates,” Thomas said, to which his son, fellow Isiah International co-founder Joshua Thomas, replied with a laugh: “Sitting right next to me.”
But make no mistake: Each of these entrepreneurs take the cannabis industry very seriously, especially when it comes to addressing the role CBD plays in health care, and the social inequities that hinder the sector’s potential in certain markets.
Zeke’s Tale
The chairman and CEO of Isiah International LLC did a fine job summarizing what this trio has to offer the space:
“The CBD and CBG oils that we put out really help, not only to control pain and inflammation, which —you know — Al, John and I are familiar with as athletes,” Thomas said. “Pain and inflammation are the things that really hamper you during your play, and after your play, as we all know.”
Thomas was a 12-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons from 1981-1994.
VESL Oils, which Thomas invested in this year, has a suite of products that encompass an innovative endocannabinoid system that can be used to bolster health in various way, Thomas explained.
“That was really, for myself, very enlightening and all three of our companies focus on that,” he added.
Since retiring, Thomas has displayed his business savvy across various industries, including real estate, champagne imports, waste removal and entertainment.
“My business expertise is startups and turnarounds,” he said. But it was cannabis that grabbed his attention in a unique way.
“I thought there was a nich there in the CBD space that I can fully speak to and become one of the dominant players in the health space… working with some of the major manufacturers and hospitals,” Thomas said.
See Also: Pistons ‘Bad Boy’ John Salley Talks ‘The Last Dance’ And His Relationship With Michael Jordan
Salley’s Story
Like Thomas, Salley swore off cannabis when the two were teammates in Detroit. Fast forward 30 years, and the scenario has changed — at least for Salley.
Both Thomas and Salley are fans of the “magic flower” and are company leaders in the market.
“I was on a team with a leader who was straight-laced,” Salley said of Thomas. “And if he can be that great and didn’t need any, I felt, supplements at the time then that was always the way I was raised and that’s how I was going to go.”
The same can’t be said for the other Pistons players.
“We found out when we retired, that we were on a team full of guys who did medicate with cannabis,” Salley added with a chuckle. “I waited until I was 36 years to wake up to the…
