John Salley was a history maker.
The near-7ft former NBA star was the first player in league history to win championships with three different franchises, as well as the first player in the NBA to win a championship in three different decades.
The four-time NBA champion won his titles playing alongside some of the greats of the game.
After being drafted out of Georgia Tech with the 11th overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, Salley made a name for himself as a member of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons.
The power forward/center won back-to-back titles with the Isiah Thomas-led Pistons in 1989 and 1990 before joining the Heat and Raptors.
In the 1995-1996 season, he joined Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to help them win a third straight world title.
After spending time overseas, Salley returned to The Association in 1999. He joined the formidable Los Angeles Lakers spearheaded by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal and coached by his former Bulls mentor, Phil Jackson.
Salley was a back-up for Shaq when the loaded Lakers outgunned the plucky Pacers during the 2000 NBA Finals.
He got his hands on the fourth Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy of his career and decided to go out on a high.
The former basketball enforcer has had quite the career change since retiring.
These days, Salley is a vegan activist, chef, wellness entrepreneur and public speaker.
Speaking about his decision to go vegan, he once said: “I decided to go vegan in 1991. My coach, at the time told me I had high cholesterol. I was one of the three youngest guys on the team, and I had cholesterol higher than the oldest guys on the squad.
“Before going vegan, for about 15 years, I was what I would call a lying to myself vegetarian. By lying, I mean I would eat Turkey on Thanksgiving and special occasions. I would eat shrimp and lobster and tell myself I could be a pescatarian. You keep coming up with all these different ways to defend that you’re not being true to yourself.
“At the age of 40, I decided to stop lying to myself. Finally, at 42, I stopped lying about food and lying to myself when I became a very focused vegan. And I have been focused on veganism now for 16 years.
Talking about his diet, Salley said: “My current diet is a plant-based diet. It is not only plant-based, it’s almost raw. I have eliminated a lot of oils out of my diet. I have eliminated as much olive oil as possible…. Mostly the vegan food I’m eating, the cooked food, is just cooked vegetables a little bit over 118 (degrees F). I’m at the point where I am making my own food as much as possible.”
As a wellness advocate, Salley is a frequent speaker at VegFest’s across the USA. One of John’s missions in life is to reportedly continue to educate people on the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle through better eating habits.
As a result, the 60-year-old is an investor in several vegan-based companies.
“Everything I do, all the companies I work with, all the plans, align with my eco-vegan live-and-let-live mentally,” he said.
Salley is involved with Mother Plucker, a vegan chicken concept and fast-food restaurant in the Los Angeles area that serves plant-based chicken tenders.
“I thought Mother Plucker was the greatest thing,” Salley told VegNews.
Salley is passionate about his lifestyle and has appeared in PETA’s testimonial videos over the years.
He also became the official spokesperson for a natural supplements line called VirMax and even once encouraged former US First Lady Michelle Obama to go vegan “for the planet.”
With a passion for real food, wine and spirits, Salley is partner in the label “Vegan Vine” in partnership with Clos LaChance Winery.
He also takes an interest in the cannabis industry, launching his own cannabis brand Deuces22 and taking an ownership stake in the cannabis testing company GreenSpace Labs.
It’s been an unusual path for Salley but one that has seen him reap the rewards of his hard work on the NBA hardwood.
News Summary:
- I won titles with MJ, Shaq and Kobe and was first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises, now I’m a vegan activist, chef and wellness entrepreneur
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