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It appears that more and more National Basketball Association players are getting into the venture funding game with the goal of taking startups to the next level. And it鈥檚 not an entirely new phenomenon.

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NBA Hall of Famer reportedly owns a major share of the Los Angeles Dodgers and several Burger King, Starbucks, T.G.I. Friday鈥檚, and 24 Hour Fitness franchises. In 2011, Johnson was of the fund. He also serves as CEO of , which dabbles in a variety of sectors, according to the company鈥檚 Crunchbase profile.

And he鈥檚 not the only one.

Retired NBA player was early to invest in some major tech companies. His track record includes having been in 聽and scooping up pre-IPO stock in Uber and Lyft.

In 2016, he told Yahoo Finance a little about his investment philosophy:

鈥淔irst of all, I listen to everybody鈥檚 pitch. I like to look in your eyes. I like to listen to the passion in your voice. I try to understand what it is. You have to demonstrate that it works. I know I鈥檓 getting all the credit, and it鈥檚 cool. But you can never win championships without your team. And the greatest of leaders are the ones smart enough to hire people smarter than them.鈥�

, a partner at , has co-invested with some athletes (although not necessarily NBA players) on funding rounds and is bullish on the practice.

鈥淥verall, we believe that athletes can certainly add a lot of value and validity to any company they get behind. They can be highly credible influencers when it comes to which functional products work or which products are generally good for you,鈥� Dickinson told Crunchbase News via email. 鈥淔urthermore, they have strong communities and can introduce a product to their fans in a unique and genuine way. Adam Eaton, outfielder for the Washington Nationals, did a great job of this when he recently invested in , a portfolio company.鈥�

Earlier this year, tech giant Intel with the NBA to create the NBA + Intel Capital Emerging Technology Investment Initiative. The brands pledged to jointly evaluate global technology startups for potential investment and commercial collaboration in a multiyear program.

For this piece, we鈥檒l take a quick look at some current NBA player investors and what companies they鈥檙e putting their money into:

Carmelo Anthony

(who recently signed to play with the Houston Rockets) is a co-founder and partner of , which invests in early-stage digital media, consumer internet, and technology ventures. In 2016, he partnered with former media exec to form Melo7.

At the time, he told TechCrunch: 鈥淭he money is enticing, but it鈥檚 also the thrill of being involved with businesses and companies that鈥檚 changing the world today.鈥�

Over the years, Melo7 has made , including funding startups such as mattress e-tailer , , a children鈥檚 media company, and .

Andre Iguodala

Golden State Warriors swingman is making a name for himself beyond just being on a playoff-winning team. From the time he joined the Warriors in 2013 through August 2017, the NBA player and his business partner Rudy Cline-Thomas ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 in about 25 startups, including Casper, , and , a direct to consumer footwear company.

The pair has reportedly invested alongside venture heavyweight , who declined to comment for this piece citing not enough time before my deadline.

Iguodala also serves as an advisor to , an online clothing retail store.

According to Bloomberg, it took a little while for Iguodala to be taken seriously in the venture world.

Reportedly, Andreessen General Partner was initially skeptical when he got a request from Cline-Thomas to meet with Iguodala. But the trio ended up getting together to discuss how Iguodala could go from investing in stocks to investing in startups.

鈥淗e wanted to understand the early stage,鈥� Jordan told Bloomberg. 鈥淭he first thing an athlete arriving in Silicon Valley needs to know is that startups are a great way to lose money鈥�.It鈥檚 got to be money you are willing to lose. Even in the best-performing venture funds, over half of the companies don鈥檛 return capital.鈥�

Stephen Curry

Some may be surprised to know that another well-known Warriors player, , is also an investor and an entrepreneur.

While he isn鈥檛 affiliated with a particular firm, Curry is slowly making a name for himself in the venture world.

He reportedly has , and he co-founded a marketing startup called . According to his Crunchbase , he has also invested in e-commerce startup and a gaming organization called that $37 million.

Last year, Curry and Iguodala decided to go beyond just investing. The pair announced the of The Players Technology Summit, which seeks to intersect professional sports with venture capital.

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