Former Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire has just made quite the career change.
The 43-year-old, who once lit up Madison Square Garden with dunks and long-range threes, graduated from the Miami-Dade Police Academy on Wednesday and became one of Florida’s newest law enforcement officers.
“Amar’e Stoudemire made his mark on the basketball court. A six-time NBA All-Star, 2003 Rookie of the Year and newly inducted Basketball Hall of Famer, he played for some of the league’s biggest teams, including our very own Miami Heat,” the Miami Dade College wrote on Instagram.
“Today, he’s celebrating a very different milestone: graduating from the MDC School of Justice Basic Law Enforcement Academy after months of rigorous training. And he’s graduating with special recognition, receiving the Harry ‘Coach’ Everett Award for his contributions to the success of the academy program throughout his training.”
While some may think becoming an NBA player consumed all of Stoudemire’s attention, the 14-year NBA vet revealed that becoming a law enforcement officer had always been his dream.
“It’s something I always wanted to do since I was a kid,” the six-time All-Star told Sports Illustrated.
“I remember back when I was in grade school, elementary school. They asked you on career day, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And my initial response was a police officer.”
Stoudemire continued, “It runs in the family. My uncle was a captain. His brother was a deputy. My cousin is a captain. My sister’s in the academy. So, it’s a family tradition, basically.”
The physical rigors of playing in the NBA, especially at the high level Stoudemire played, are severe. However, the former Knick revealed that in some respects his 11-month police academy training was just as tough.
“Yeah, it was a little bit [more] challenging actually because now I’m running a lot more than I had before,” Stoudemire told SI.
“Obviously, in the NBA you run short distances, right? And the police academy, you’re running more long-distance mileage.”
Stoudemire also said the risks of being a cop concerned his wife when he started talking about joining the department.
“My wife at first was a little bit concerned because obviously being a police officer, there’s some danger to it,” he said.
“But if you are well-trained and you understand your policies and procedures, you’re able to somewhat have officer safety, which is very important, and that’s the goal.”
Stoudemire’s graduation into law enforcement is only the most recent of his accomplishments. In August, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.