The San Antonio Spurs’ veteran forward Harrison Barnes recently purchased Community State Bank, a small bank near his hometown of Ames, Iowa, after investing $25 million of his own money. His former teammate, Tyrese Haliburton, saw the news on social media and said Harrison Barnes told him about the plan six years ago, when he was just a rookie.
“HB told me this was the plan my rookie year!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That was the first time I realized dudes in the NBA got real families and are real adults like wtf lol,” Haliburton wrote on X.
Tyrese Haliburton and Harrison Barnes were teammates during the Indiana Pacers star’s time as a rookie with the Sacramento Kings from 2020 to 2022.
Barnes, who grew up in Ames, Iowa, has completed one year of schooling at the Iowa School of Banking for a professional course while still being in the NBA. He runs a private equity firm, Barnes and Co., but also made the purchase through his company, Barnes Bancorp, Inc, and has experience as a bank director.
Harrison Barnes sat down with multiple media houses and spoke to several journalists after this news was confirmed. While this may seem like an investment to give back to his community by creating and facilitating jobs (the bank plans to keep the same staff), the 14-year NBA veteran is confident that this investment is aimed at taking the bank to the top of the financial sector.
“This is not a vanity project,” he said. “We want to be Iowa’s next great bank.”
“I think what makes Community State Bank so special is really just how this bank was formed. But the leadership of (CEO) Craig (Marquardt) and Jake (Bohnet) has been phenomenal,” Barnes also said.
“And I think that when you are talking about banking, you’re talking about trust, and I think the leadership that those guys exemplify on a day-to-day basis makes it exciting to want to support and build upon the legacy that they can say that’s been here now for 70 years.”
“I think the biggest thing is that you have to be where your feet are. When I’m focused on basketball, and I’m in that lane, I’m 100 percent a basketball player. When I’m here trying to figure out how to best support and serve Community State Bank, I’m 100 percent in this lane, right?” Harrison Barnes further added.
“When I’m at home, and I’m with my family, I’m 100-percent a husband and a father, right? Like, I think every time that you step into a room, you step into a space, you are 100-percent where your feet are at, and that’s how I find the balance,” he concluded.
Harrison Barnes has accumulated $224.1 million in career earnings during his time with the Warriors, the Mavericks, the Kings, and now the Spurs. He has an estimated net worth of $16 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth).
Entering the 15th year of his NBA career, Barnes is breaking the norm for active players’ involvement in business decisions. If Barnes was only thinking about the next NBA season, nobody could hold it against him. Players across the league are honing their offseason workouts in anticipation of another demanding season as training camp and preseason draw near.
For an active NBA player, it’s unfamiliar territory, but he felt comfortable making the decision after learning about the business throughout his career. It will be fascinating to see how Barnes’ off-court investment performs over time.
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