Kriti Mehrotra
Although many once believed Damon Lamon Stoudamire was too short to be a professional in the world of basketball, the 5’10” point guard turned coach has actually achieved wonders. That’s because he not only had a 13-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) but he has also since evolved into a successful professional collegiate basketball coach. His trajectory has even been marked by some troubles, though, as carefully chronicled in Netflix’s ‘Untold: Jail Blazers,’ making many wonder more about the same and his net worth.
How Did Damon Stoudamire Earn His Money?
Damon Stoudamire’s uncles were the ones who taught him to play basketball and football at an early age, only for him to not part ways with the former in any capacity as time passed. In fact, he also played while attending Woodrow Wilson High School (now Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School), where he led his team to state championships in 1989 and 1991. By the time he had graduated in the summer of 1991, the Portland, Oregon, native had been named Player of the Year 1991 and selected as a Converse High School All-America Team.
Damon subsequently enrolled in the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he quickly proved his mettle and was assigned point guard for the Arizona Wildcats during his freshman year itself. Little did anyone know he would also impress fans and professionals with their eyes on collegiate games, so he ended up being seleced in a first-team All-American and was a finalist for College Player of the Year. This pattern only continued over time, resulting in him ending his college career with record-breaking statistics – he became the Wildcat to score the most 3 pointers in history.
As if that’s not enough, Damon even became the youngest player on the roster of the US Men’s National Basketball Team while he was still in college, graduating in 1995. The Pac-10 Player of the Year recipient thus made himself available for the 1995 NBA Draft, during which he was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the first round itself as the 7th overall pick. It was during his rookie season that he earned the nickname Mighty Mouse, making it clear that while he was short in comparison to most people in the league, he was still a match-winning player in every capacity.
Damon averaged 9.3 assists and 19 points per game during his rookie season, earning him the title of NBA Rookie of the Year and being selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He remained with the Raptors until February 1998, when he was traded to his hometown team, the Portland Trail Blazers, where he quickly found his footing with the help of Rasheed Wallace. They became a possible championship-winning team in almost no time, even making it to the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, but they never could make it all the way to the NBA Finals.
Damon’s career with the Trail Blazers was also marred by his several arrests for marijuana-related incidents between 2002 and 2004, but he was never criminally charged with anything. Instead, he was only ever pulled over for driving under the influence in 2002, asked to pay a $250,000 fine in 2003 for possession, and ordered to undergo a 90-day rehab program. In the end, when his contract with them expired in 2005, it was decided it would be best he move on, so he signed a 4-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. He played for them to the best of his abilities before getting into a year-long contract with the San Antonio Spurs in 2008.
Damon announced his retirement from the NBA that same year, 2008, as he didn’t really get a chance to play during the season despite significant interest in him. Therefore, he decided it would be best if he hung up his shoes while he is still ahead in the game and move in a direction that seemed equally as fulfilling, even if it was not on the court. He evolved into a basketball coach by December 2008, having accepted the position of Director of Player Development at Rice University. He was then part of the coaching staff for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2009 to 2011, following which he moved between the University of Memphis, the University of Arizona in Tucson, the University of Pacific, Gonzaga University, and the Boston Celtics. However, from 2023 to 2026, he served as Head Coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he now serves as Assistant Coach at Louisiana State University.
Damon Stoudamire’s Net Worth
Since Damon had an incredible 13-year run in the NBA and then served as a Coach for another 18 years, it is almost undeniable that he accumulated significant wealth for himself over the years. However, it’s imperative to note that details of his precise income for most of his career are unclear as of writing, since he was careful not to be public about it in any capacity for privacy reasons. Nevertheless, based on market value, his employers’ history, his particular skill sets, and his reputation, we do have some estimates, especially for his time as a coach in the collegiate and NBA worlds. From what we can tell, he likely started out making $500,000-$1 million after his retirement as an athlete, but by 2025, he was earning at least $2.5 million in base salary alone. We specify base because he likely earned bonuses, too.
As for Damon’s earnings as an athlete, while it’s unclear how much his contracts with different teams were worth, it has been reported that he made a little under $100 million in base salary alone. Apart from that, over the years, he has been affiliated with big-name brands such as Nike, Ryan Simkhai Eyeshop, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, and many others. Thus, taking all these aspects into account, along with his potential assets, investments, returns, and expenses as a happily married father of three, we believe his net worth to be in the range of $60 million.
Read More: Rasheed Wallace’s Net Worth: How Rich is the Ex-NBA Athlete?
