Key Takeaways
- Amar’e Stoudemire graduated from the Miami-Dade Police Academy after nearly 11 months of training and will serve with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department.
- The six-time NBA All-Star called policing a childhood ambition and family tradition, and he earned the Harry “Coach” Everett Award for supporting the program and his fellow recruits.
- His new career follows his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, capping a playing résumé that includes five All-NBA selections and career averages of 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Amar’e Stoudemire has added a badge to a résumé already stacked with All-Star appearances, championships, and a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The former New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns star graduated from the Miami-Dade Police Academy on Wednesday, Oct. 14, after nearly 11 months of training. He will now serve with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department.
According to The New York Post, the 43-year-old received the Harry “Coach” Everett Award, which recognizes his contributions to the program and his fellow recruits’ success. Miami Dade College marked the occasion with photos of Stoudemire in uniform, holding his diploma and standing alongside other officers.
“Amar’e Stoudemire made his mark on the basketball court,” the college wrote on Instagram. “Today, he’s celebrating a very different milestone: graduating from the MDC School of Justice Basic Law Enforcement Academy after months of rigorous training.”
The career change may seem surprising for a six-time NBA All-Star, but Stoudemire said it brings him back to his earliest ambition. Before basketball made him famous, he imagined himself working in law enforcement.
“It’s something I always wanted to do since I was a kid,” Stoudemire said. “I remember back when I was in grade school, elementary school. On career day, they asked you, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And my initial response was a police officer.”
The job also runs in his family. Stoudemire said one of his uncles became a captain, another served as a deputy, his cousin is a captain, and his sister is currently attending the academy. “It’s a family tradition, basically,” he said.
Getting through the academy required Stoudemire to trade the explosive bursts of an NBA game for long-distance runs and military-style drills. Despite spending 14 seasons battling some of basketball’s most imposing athletes, he admitted the new conditioning presented its own challenge.
“It was a little bit [more] challenging actually because now I’m running a lot more than I had before,” he said. “Obviously, in the NBA you run short distances, right? And at the police academy, you’re running more long-distance mileage.”
Stoudemire also acknowledged that his wife initially had reservations about the danger involved. He said extensive training and a firm understanding of department policies can help officers protect themselves while doing the job. “Officer safety,” he said, is the priority.
The graduation arrives only two months after Stoudemire entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, fulfilling a goal he voiced before playing a single NBA game. Phoenix selected him ninth overall straight out of high school in 2002, and he became the first prep-to-pro player to win Rookie of the Year.
He went on to earn five All-NBA selections and formed one of the era’s most devastating pick-and-roll partnerships with Steve Nash.
Stoudemire later signed with the Knicks in 2010 and immediately helped end the franchise’s seven-year playoff drought. He finished his NBA career averaging 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds across 846 games, then won championships overseas before retiring from professional basketball in 2020.
