Steve Popper: New Knicks big man Andre Drummond balances his love of basketball with his business interests

Andre Drummond got on the first flight he could out of Las Vegas Tuesday, having conducted his greetings with the Knicks coaches and some of his new teammates, and arrived back home ready to work.

Not that he hasn’t been working. While most of the NBA veterans have taken some time to shut down, vacations finally arriving and tropical island destinations calling, Drummond was working 12-hour days. It just wasn’t on the court.

Sure, he’s getting his workouts in, prepping for a new challenge and what he hopes will be a chance to finally, in his 15th NBA season, achieve the team goals that have eluded him even as he piled up other honors.

But Drummond, soon to turn 33 years old and with many NBA miles on his body, has been working on the next phase of his life at the same time.

Throughout his long NBA career he’s always had an eye on the next thing. And while most of his contemporaries are content to cash a check from Nike or Adidas, which he also did with no complaints, he has moved into another role, serving as an investor, an equity partner and a creative director with Stria, a shoe brand just a few years old.

It’s an ambitious schedule, maybe taking him off the golf course or out of the weight room for hours in the offseason. But it’s also for the future as he debuts his first shoe project this week.

However, he signed on with the Knicks this summer for another go-round, not ready to give up on the game just yet.

“You know, I just love to play,” Drummond told Newsday in a phone call Tuesday. “I don’t have to play . . . [It’s] because I want to, and I love the game, and I truly love being a part of winning.

“And I’ve been on a bunch of winning organizations the past few stints I’ve been in, and it’s felt great. And now that I’m playing with the Knicks, obviously another team that just won. Just looking forward to continuing to build on that, and it kind of just helps me stay focused as well too.

“Just having some sort of structure, so I’m still going with basketball and obviously being able to focus on the other things I want to do off the court.”

For Drummond, who was born in Mount Vernon, New York, not far from the Knicks training facilities, before moving to Connecticut as a child, the things he’s doing off the court now don’t seem out of character. Evolving has been a trademark for him since he entered the NBA as a lottery pick after one season at UConn in 2012.

The Knicks signed him to a $3.9 million deal to help make up for the loss of Mitchell Robinson. In some ways he seems like a perfect fit to make up for Robinson’s offensive-rebounding prowess, which is among the best in NBA history. Drummond led the NBA in offensive rebounds per game seven times in his career and is the active leader in the league now.

But he’s also evolved, becoming a perimeter threat, attempting 90 three-pointers last season for Philadelphia, more than double the attempts he’d ever had in a season, and connecting on 35.6%. He’s been an All-Star twice, but in New York he hopes to get a championship ring.

Off the court, it’s been the same, delving into real estate investments, establishing charitable ventures in Middletown, Connecticut, where he’d grown up, and now this. Drummond has joined up with Eric Porter, who played Division III ball before starting the company in 2023, and both insisted that this isn’t just an athlete lending his name to a brand.

“You know, at this point, I’d say we’re partners and friends,” Porter said. “But I think on the partner side, it is a true partnership. This is not one of those deals where you know you invest into the title of creative director and then it’s kind of like we’ll check in every couple months. I’m talking to Andre every day, and it’s his ideas, his direction, asking questions, and you know we’re staying in touch.”

I spent two days with him last week where we were working 12-hour days, going over new product schedules, all of that. So this has been a real pleasure, just because you go into a deal like this, and there’s you know a little bit of uncertainty.

Like we understand the guidelines and the outline of what the deal is, but there’s some trust in you know how it’s going to work, and you don’t really know until you begin. But so far, it’s been great. He’s been extremely hands-on. He understands his name is behind it, and we’re working together to go where we want to go, and that’s having the same vision.”

“Obviously, every athlete and every sports person has a dream that they own their own sneaker company or own their own signature shoe,” Drummond said. “So for me, this is a dream come true, but not really understanding what went into the business of how grueling and how long these hours can be.

“And it’s been so much fun, man. I can’t even explain to you how much fun I’ve had with this. This is like I feel like a kid in a candy store. Every day I have new ideas . . . So I’m thinking further along the line instead of what’s happening right now. So my investment and my dedication to this brand, it’s everything.”

Not everything. He joked that he won’t try to win over Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns to the brand, “I’ll start with the youth. Yeah, work my way from there.”

But he’s still intent on accomplishing more on the court even as he prepares for the next act. And for now, while juggling the two careers, he still wants to relax a little bit after arriving from Vegas.

“I mean, I’ll definitely be on the golf course out there and get my swing thing,” he said. “But I do like to feel what my future will look like because I don’t want to be a couch potato when I’m done playing. I still want to keep my mind and keep myself sharp and involve myself in things that I still do care about and want to progress in.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.