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Former NBA All-Star Vin Baker to Become Starbucks Manager

Ex baller is on a new path after squandering $100 million.

Vin Baker was a four-time NBA All-Star and 2000 Olympics gold-medal winner, having earned $100 million over the course of his 13-year professional basketball career.

And now...he's just excited about becoming a full-time manager at a Starbucks in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

After financial carelessness and bouts with alcoholism, the 43-year-old Baker views the position at Starbucks as a step in the right direction of improving his life.

“When you learn lessons in life, no matter what level you’re at financially, the important part to realize is it could happen,” Baker told the Providence Journal about his fall from grace. “I was an alcoholic, I lost a fortune. I had a great talent and lost it. For the people on the outside looking in, they’re like 'Wow.’ For me, I’m 43 and I have four kids. I have to pick up the pieces. I’m a father. I’m a minister in my father’s church.

"I have to take the story and show that you can bounce back," he added. "If I use my notoriety in the right way, most people will appreciate that this guy is just trying to bounce back in his life.”

Baker got the opportunity to work at Starbucks from the company's CEO Howard Schultz, who owned the Seattle SuperSonics during Baker's stint with the team from 1997-2002.

Baker still has ties to the NBA, as he recently worked with the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff, courtesy of an invite from coach Jason Kidd, at their Summer League in Las Vegas. 

BET Sports News — Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports, including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes.

(Photo: Howard Earl Simmons/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

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