Posted in June 23, 2025

By Evan Wechman

When former Delbarton basketball star Troy Murphy turned professional, he was unaware of the role money would play in his life. When he was drafted with the 14th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, he was initially centered solely on his game.  The subject of finances was not something that came up while in high school or at the University of Notre Dame.

“It wasn’t necessarily that I wasn’t interested in finances, but I was singularly focused on when I was in class, just getting good grades and when I was outside of the classroom, just trying to make myself the best athlete that I thought I could. So, we didn’t talk about it as a family, or the groups that I kind of grew up in. It wasn’t something that was regularly discussed,” Murphy said.

However, Murphy, who grew up in a middle-class family raised by two New Jersey teachers who were conservative with their finances, saw some alarming actions by other players when he was preparing for the 2001 draft.

The months prior to selection day, he would practice with other players preparing to go pro.  Not everyone was going to get the big payday, but many were spending as if they already had secured the contract.

“I just think if there was anything I noticed at that time, it was kind of putting the cart before the horse, where there were a bunch of guys that were working out for the draft that I would go against in workouts, and it seemed like a lot of the guys were spending money that they didn’t necessarily have,” he said.

That observation as well as the significant number of financial conversations he had with financial brokers during his career left a lasting impact.

Murphy recalls that though he would have quarterly meetings with brokers who would present him with large binders of his assets he didn’t understand everything that was being told to him. However, once he retired in 2012, he knew there had to be a change.

“It was kind of a thing where I wanted to really know what I was involved in, what I was invested in, so when I finished up my career, I just sat down at the kitchen table with my binder and figured it out,” Murphy said.

Murphy not only wanted to understand his own finances better, but he wanted to help other people who had experienced sudden wealth manage their money too.  He didn’t want to see the same mistakes made by some of his basketball peers.

He therefore consulted with numerous financial advisors and learned everything he could about managing money.

There was one caveat though.  Murphy, who felt fortunate he didn’t squander his earnings away, didn’t want to profit from helping others.  Rather, like an attorney, he charged an hourly fee to his clients and donated those fees to non-profit organizations dedicated to improving financial literacy.

He wants his clients and everyday people to know that coming into a great amount of money comes great responsibility.

According to Murphy, “any person who comes into any kind of windfall should not look at it as house money. But rather they should consider every dollar the same and respect each dollar. Whether it’s from an inheritance or however it came into your portfolio, respect it rather than think hey I got this, so I could go spend it.”

The former Delbarton star is once again making a name for himself, but he is not looking for any praise.

“”it’s just my way of giving back. I feel like I’ve been blessed and extremely fortunate and very grateful for the life that I’ve been able to have. And I want to pay forward to a lot of people, especially from the financial literacy sector because when I searched for answers and sought things out, it’s been amazing how I found really honest, good quality resources and people. I just want to be able to be that for someone else.”

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