Washington Wizards guard Landry Shamet (20) playing in the first half of NBA basketball … [+]
As a student at Wichita State University, Landry Shamet didn't pay much attention to business opportunities. He was busy with his schoolwork and playing on the men's basketball team. This was before college athletes could profit financially from his name, image and appearance, so he never had a chance to get a contract.
Still, early in his NBA career, Shamet began receiving pitches on how to make money beyond his salary. He quickly became interested in the topic, talked to his financial advisor and friends inside and outside the NBA, and began investing.
Shamet, currently in his sixth NBA season and first with the Washington Wizards, recently formed a partnership with Earth's Splendor, a vitamin, mineral and supplement company. He serves as a brand ambassador and owns 2.5% of the company's stock.
Contract Pharmaceutical Corp. is a Hauppauge, Long Island, New York-based company that manufactures and markets Earth's Splendor products and owns stock in the company. Earth's Splendor launched an e-commerce website last year.
“Being an athlete, taking care of my body is part of my job,” Shamet said. “That's something I've always been very interested in and something I've paid a lot of attention to in terms of what I put into my body.”
He further added: “A lot of brands offer a one-off payment for this kind of product, but I think it's great to be able to[secure equity]. Now that I'm part of the ownership, You also get an added incentive. It's great to be able to get stakes and skin in the game.”
This is not Landry's first such deal. He also owns stock in Lemon Perfect Company, an Atlanta company that makes lemon-infused drinks. Lemon Perfect raised $36.8 million last year in a deal that valued the company at $150 million.
Yanni Hafganel, Lemon Perfect's founder and CEO, is a former college basketball coach who hired Shamet when he was in high school and Hafganel was an assistant at Harvard.
Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Shamet spent time in the Midwest for college, enrolling at Wichita State University in the fall of 2015. He fractured his left foot in November of the same year and underwent surgery, missing the rest of the season.
Shamet returned the following season and was named first team All-Missouri Valley Conference. Henn was then named to the All-American Athletic Conference first team in the 2017-18 season, averaging career highs in points (14.9), assists (5.2) and rebounds (3.2) per game.
The Philadelphia 76ers selected Shamet in the first round (26th overall pick) of the 2018 draft. He is the first Wichita State player to be selected in the first round since Xavier McDaniel in 1985.
In February 2019, the 76ers traded Shamet to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through his rookie season. Around that time, Shamet began to show an interest in business, thanks to some teammates who talked to him about the importance of investing and being responsible with money.
“Luckily, I have veterans around me who are pretty open about their finances and what they've seen, what they've learned, and the mistakes they've made,” Shamet said. Mr. To said.
Mr. Shamet has a particular interest in the real estate field. He has participated in several transactions with private lenders providing short-term financing (1-3 years) to commercial property owners. He's also working on a venture with friend and former Wichita State teammate Brett Barney to acquire apartment real estate.
Shamet and Barney are considering potential real estate deals in and around Wichita and Phoenix, where Shamet played two seasons before being traded to the Wizards last June. While Barney conducts most of the research and handles many of the conversations with brokers and lenders, Shamet engages and contacts Barney at least three times a week, while also focusing on his NBA career. We are doing everything we can.
“He's a very business-savvy guy,” Shamet said of Barney. “I love having him by my side because he encourages me to get better and to develop myself even more in that department. He's a smart guy, he's hungry, he's always learning and trying to get better.''
