Al Harrington was a true NBA journeyman.
Throughout his 16-year pro career, the former first-round pick is mostly remembered for bouncing between teams, and played for seven different franchises from 1998 to 2014.
Harrington spent six years with the Pacers before bouncing around the NBAGettyAt just 18, he was taken as the 25th overall pick by the Indiana Pacers, and soon witnessed the incredible highs and lows of the NBA.
Harrington played his first years with Indiana under the legendary Larry Bird, who was head coach of the team for three seasons between 1997 and 2000, and came closer than anyone to ending the Chicago Bulls dynasty.
Arguably, there was no better coach for a rookie to work with.
But having skipped college hoops, a teenage Harrington entered the NBA during the longest of its four lockouts, which lasted for more than six months and forced the 1998–99 season to be shortened to just 50 regular season games.
In his first year, which was anything but easy, the 6-foot-9 power forward averaged 7.6 minutes and 2.1 points per game.
While he remained patient and later carved a role as a key contributor for the team, much of Harrington’s Pacers career was spent coming off the bench.
As Indiana made a run to the 2000 NBA Finals, he featured 50 times in the regular season, but never started a game, and averaged 17.1 minutes and 6.6 points.
The Pacers faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers for the championship that year, where they were beaten in six games by Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Co.
While Coach Bird resigned following that disappointment, Harrington remained with the team and began to come into his own.
In the 2001-02 season, he averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, but his year ended earlier than planned after he suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the final 38 games.
Harrington played for the Pacers en-route to the 2000 NBA FinalsGetty He later played for the likes of the Hawks, Warriors and Knicks before retiring in 2015GettyHe made a comeback the following year, becoming the only Pacer to play in all 82 games in 2002-03, and 12 months on, was an integral part of Indiana’s first run to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000.
But even that wasn’t enough to keep Harrington in Indiana, and he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2004.
After two seasons with the team, the second of which saw him start a career-high 76 games, he returned to the Pacers for a brief spell, before moving on to join the Golden State Warriors.
Harrington spent less than two years in San Francisco, before bouncing to the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.
In 2015, he announced his retirement from professional basketball, bringing the curtain down on a 16-year career that saw him earn $89million from the NBA.
And in the decade since, he has made that money grow.
Harrington made $89m in his NBA career before turning to the cannabis industryGettyNBA's Greatest
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In 2012, as his sporting career was coming to an end, Harrington co-founded Viola, a Los Angeles-based cannabis company named after his grandmother.
At the time, he was dealing with the same kind of chronic knee and joint pain that follows just about every player who stays with basketball long enough.
The anti-inflammatories he’d been taking regularly for years weren’t having much effect, and Harrington wanted to try medical marijuana instead.
Fortunately, he lived in Denver, a state that was one of the first to legalize use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Harrington began using the medicinal form of the drugs, in creams that he rubbed on his knees, and drops.
While they didn’t bring the high that smoking marijuana delivers, they brought Harrington relief.
Harrington saw the benefits of medical marijuana toward the end of his careerGettyUpon retiring, he went into cannabis full-time and started leading the development businesses in three states, with a dream of being a major player in the world of legalized medical marijuana.
A decade on, and his company Viola grows, processes, and sells all types of cannabis products, from flower, to concentrates, to pre-rolled joints.
Harrington has also launched a number of offshoots, including a company that manufactures non-psychoactive cannabinoid products.
He has also announced investment in a third company, Butter Baby, which makes cannabis edibles.
Harrington’s Viola now has operations in California, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington, and generated about $20m in revenue in 2021 alone, before it was valued at over $100m the following year.
By that time, the former basketball star had invested $6m of his own money to take ownership of about 40 percent of the company.
Harrington’s cannabis company is said to be valued at more than $100mGettyOther NBA investors include Ben Gordon, Kenyon Martin and DeMarcus Cousins — but selling cannabis is only part of Viola’s mission.
Harrington’s main goal is to help Black entrepreneurs build equity in one of America’s fastest-growing economies.
As of 2025, cannabis is legal in some form in 39 US states, including for recreational use in 24, and is expected to generate $65 billion in annual sales by 2030.
“The opportunities in our communities need to be owned by us — period,” Harrington said of his mission back in 2022, when only 2 percent of cannabis companies were Black-owned.
“That is an issue.
“How can (the policing of) this drug have done so much harm in our communities, and now is a multibillion-dollar industry and not only are we not in position to participate, but we’re still locked up because of it?”
Harrington’s mission involves bringing more Black entrepreneur’s to the industryGettyAs Harrington continues to grow his cannabis brand, his Pacers are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
Led by ‘clutch king’ Tyrese Haliburton, they stole Game 1 from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and will look to go 2-0 up in the series on Sunday.
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