Matt Bonner’s Investment Advice Post-NBA: ‘There’s Always Money in Garbage’
With a 6-foot-10 frame and bright red hair, Matt Bonner was always one of the more unique looking players in the NBA. He had quite a long career in the league. While he was never a superstar, he contributed some decent minutes off the bench for some really good San Antonio Spurs teams that made deep playoff runs.
Bonner no longer plays professional basketball, but what exactly is he up to now? Let’s take a look at his career, retirement, life after basketball, and his sage investment advice.
NBA career overview
Bonner played his college hoops for the University of Florida. The Chicago Bulls made him a second-round pick in the 2003 NBA Draft — 45th overall. Bonner never played for the Bulls, however, spending his entire career with the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs. Here were his career statistics:
- 792 games played
- 5.8 points per game
- 3.0 rebounds per game
- 0.7 assists per game
- Shot 41.4% from the three-point line
- 13.6 Player Efficiency Rating
Despite his lanky frame, Bonner was best known for his outside shooting ability. He played a key role as a bench player on two Spurs’ championship teams alongside legends like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker.
Why Matt Bonner retired
Bonner was always known for his sense of humor. That’s why the way he announced his retirement shouldn’t come as a surprise. Bonner created a funny internet video to call it a career. He added in a note to fans:
“Today, I’m announcing my retirement from the NBA. Thank you to everyone who supported this humble redheaded role player through the years. I loved every team I played for and every city I lived in.
Staying true to myself, I made this mildly humorous video. Unless a professional “spot shooting” league miraculously crops up, I hope you will continue the support for whatever comes for me after basketball.”
Bonner retired because he turned 36 and while he was still a solid shooter, the Spurs wanted to get younger. They informed Bonner they would not re-sign him. Rather than play abroad or attempt to catch on with another NBA team, Bonner simply called it quits. The Spurs quickly picked him up as a TV studio analyst for their games.
Matt Bonner’s investment advice post-NBA
Bonner’s post-NBA life has involved covering Spurs’ games and spending time with his family which includes his wife, son, and two daughters. His wife Nadia gave birth to their last child in 2018. Bonner’s retirement activities also involve playing around with investments, something he’s turned into quite a profitable hobby over the years.
Bonner has had an avid interest in the stock market since he took a class in sixth grade teaching him how to invest. The teacher gave each student $10,000 in fake money to teach them the principles of investing.
Bonner continues to do it passionately to this day. He has also passed the lessons of investing onto his young daughter:
“If she gets money for her birthday, she wants me to put it in her account to buy more stock…I think future value of money is such an important concept that people don’t understand. If you invest your money, what it’s worth 20 years from now is way more than what it is now.”
One of the best pieces of advice Bonner received from his teacher was to buy stock in Waste Management. Since he first purchased them, their shares have more than doubled. He chalked this up to his teacher. According to Bonner, “She said, ‘There’s always money in garbage.’ And she was right.”
It may sound like a funny sentence, but Bonner has used that advice to laugh all the way to the bank.
