Left the court behind to do pretty much everything else.
He spent years dominating in the paint as a towering figure for the Milwaukee Bucks and later the Los Angeles Lakers, and then Abdul-Jabbar moved on to coaching, getting all the way up to assistant coach for the Lakers.
This huge man has now embraced his talent as a writer, having written and co-authored more than thirteen books. Many of the books are about himself, basketball, or African Americans, but there are also some children’s books, as well as “Mycroft and Sherlock” with Anna Waterhouse. He also applied himself to humanitarian work and earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaq is busy off-court.
The biggest basketball player to ever hit the court — figuratively and literally — has had plenty of small roles during his life, including novelty rapper, movie star, and Icy Hot salesman. Once he stepped away from the spotlight, however, he started to do even better.
He went back to college to earn an MBA as well as a doctorate in education. He's become an honorary sheriff's deputy in Georgia, and he even got his music career back up with a recent track about LaVar Ball. He also sits behind the desk for TNT as an NBA analyst as his full-time job. The big guy keeps busy.
Danny Tamberelli
Little Pete has a little podcast.
Tamberelli played “Little Pete” in “Pete & Pete” alongside Michael Maronna, and enjoys a successful life now that he isn't part of the spotlight anymore. He works as a musician, and has had a number of tries at the musical life, including playing bass and singing for the rock band Jounce, and as the bassist for folk/pop band Every Good Boy.
He's on the podcast “The Adventures of Pete and Pete” with Maronna, and is also a touring member of the sketch comedy group Manboobs with Jeremy Balon. He's appeared on a number of other podcasts, has done voice work for “Grand Theft Auto V,” and has a child with his wife.
Kurtis Blow
Rapping the gospel.
Kurtis was not just a rapper and not just a big rapper — he was the first commercially successful rapper EVER. His single “The Breaks” from his 1980 self-titled debut album is the first certified gold record rap song. But after fifteen albums, he turned to God. Blow — real name Kurtis Walker — founded Harlem's Hip Hop Church.
The rap star and born-again minister spends his time both preaching there as well as singing and acting as a DJ. There are a lot of career changes here, but this one might be the wildest. He still sometimes comes out with music, but it's slowed down in recent years so he can focus on other work.
Shirley Temple
From film to politics.
When films were still in their infancy, Shirley Temple was the queen of the scene. Her films “The Little Princess” and “Heidi” made her a superstar, but she wasn't able to stay in the limelight after she grew up. She ended up leaving acting at only twenty-two years old, getting involved in politics.
She ended up becoming a United States ambassador to Ghana and the former country of Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s. Temple passed away at the age of eighty-five in 2014, not only being the mold for child actors but the mold for moving into a different life.