Amar'e Stoudemire is among the most accomplished basketball players of his generation: He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003, then went on to become a six-time All-Star in a 14-season career that earned him a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this summer.
Many might remember Stoudemire as a Phoenix Sun. Others may think of him as a New York Knick.
But, as of Wednesday, Stoudemire’s something completely different: a police officer.
The former frontcourt standout, and Brooklyn Nets assistant coach, graduated from the Miami Dade College School of Justice’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy this week.
Stoudemire, 43, will work with the county’s school police department.
Amar’e Stoudemire, @Amareisreal, 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 @MiamiHEAT.
— Miami Dade College (@MDCollege) October 15, 2026
Today, he’s celebrating a… pic.twitter.com/b4snce82bb
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“For Amar’e, this is more than a second career,” the school said in a post on X. “Becoming a police officer was a childhood dream, inspired in part by family members who served in law enforcement.
“Now, he will begin a new chapter as a police officer with the Miami Dade Schools Police Department, giving back to our community and serving as a positive influence for the next generation.”
The school also noted that Stoudemire received the Harry “Coach” Everett Award “for his contributions to the success of the academy program throughout his training.”
Stoudemire was part of a Hall of Fame class that included his longtime coach, Mike D'Antoni. Together, they enjoyed success in Phoenix and New York.
As Miami Dade College referenced in its social media post on Wednesday, Stoudemire played for the Heat as well. That was at the end of his illustrious career, after he made a brief stop with the Dallas Mavericks.
Over the years, the 6-foot-10 Stoudemire averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 boards. In 2010-11, his first season with the Knicks, he posted 25.3 points per game as New York returned to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Long before that, in 2004-05, he put a career-high 26 points per contest for a Suns team that won 62 regular-season games and reached the Western Conference finals.
Steve Nash won NBA MVP that year, and Stoudemire wound up coaching under him with the Nets from 2020-22.
Despite all of his exploits on the hardwood, Stoudemire still had another dream to live out.
“It’s something I always wanted to do since I was a kid,” Stoudemire said of becoming a police officer in an interview with 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. 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.”