Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — John Collins arrived at the draft in 2017 with some eye-popping shoes — especially if your eyes got too close them. They were black Christian Louboutin high tops with small spikes protruding from darn near every inch.
"I always wanted a pair of Christian Louboutin with the spikes. I don't even like Christian Louboutin like that, per se, but always wanted a shoe with spikes on it," the Jazz forward said.
About $1,300 later, he had a pair and wore them to what was then the biggest night of his life.
"Still have them right now, so still in perfect condition," he said. "It's a little timepiece now."
Wake Forest's John Collins wearing Christian Louboutin hi-tops to tonight's draft ($1,295) pic.twitter.com/sBFj7sHwXf
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 22, 2017
But away from those flashy (eh, spiky?) shoes was another purchase that held much more meaning. His mom had been driving an old Toyota. Soon, she had a brand new Range Rover courtesy of her son.
That type of major purchase was common among the Jazz players.
When Kris Dunn was 1 years old, his mother, Pia, took he and his older brother, John, from their family home and ran away to Alexandria, Virginia. Overnight, the young boys were cast into poverty and were without a father. It was John who played that role for a young Kris.
"In hindsight, he was like my first father figure," Dunn said.
Life in Alexandria was tough. Pia occasionally spent a day or two in jail for minor offenses like credit card fraud and writing bad checks. And once the sentences grew longer, the boys were left to fend for themselves. John would gamble with dice and Kris — already showing a knack for basketball — would challenge local kids to games of one-on-one.
The story has a happy ending: After years of searching, John Seldon — the boys' father — was able to track them down. With Pia incarcerated, Seldon was granted legal custody of his sons and he integrated them into his family in New London, Connecticut.
That changed Dunn's life and put him on track to make the NBA. When that day came, he wanted to say thank you to his older brother for helping raise him, so he bought him a house.
"When I was younger, it was just me and my brother at my mom's," Dunn said. "He sacrificed a lot when I was younger, so I just wanted to give back."
Brice Sensabaugh felt the same way toward his family.
His father, Gerrard, grew up in unfortunate circumstances and even played a father-like role to his younger brother. That younger brother, Sensabaugh's uncle, went on to play college ball at Eastern Kentucky — something his dad never got the chance to do.
"He never really played organized because he had to take care of my uncle — he's his little brother," Sensabaugh said in an interview in 2022.
So when Sensabaugh heard his dad was trying to figure out how to buy a truck, he knew just what to do. Soon, Gerrard was the proud owner of a new Ram 1500.
"He's a truck guy. He said that's like one of the only gifts he's ever got," Sensabaugh said. "He's always the one providing. Being able to give that to him meant a lot to me. The whole week, he was happy and smiling. It was really cool."
Collin Sexton understands being a truck guy. Sexton recently acquired a Ram 1500 TRX — the first major thing he's bought for himself since joining the league. He quickly pointed out, though, that it wasn't technically a full purchase since other deals were involved.
Why was that detail important? Well, because Sexton considers himself "cheap." Others would just call him smart. He's bought things, yes, but most are making him money back.
"At the end of the day, I want to invest," he said. "I'm big into real estate. I'm huge into real estate back home (in Atlanta) and in different places like Houston."
It's not for personal gain. He sees his career as a chance to leave generational wealth for his entire family.
"I try to find other ways to put my money and I try to be smarter, just because at the end of the day, it's so easy to go buy cars, jewelry, chains," he said. "But if I look out for my nieces and nephews and my kids when I have them, that's gonna be the best feeling ever."
