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Rose was unaware of his chess-playing peers until his NBA career finished. On Sunday, he had lined them up across the stage, paired with world-renowned grandmasters. Rajon Rondo was once one of his fiercest rivals. Rose and Tony Snell shared a locker room for three seasons. Drew Gooden was one of Chicago’s veterans during Rose’s rookie year; yet they never spoke a word about the game they all secretly loved. His vision was meant to play out at Madison Square Garden a couple years earlier. With patience, Rose’s ambition aligned with the Freestyle Chess Tour and the endeavors of its co-founders, Magnus Carlsen — the top-ranked player in the world — and Jan Henric Buettner.
Although he’s an avid online player, Rose doesn’t keep track of his rating. “I’m a baller,” he joked. “Get me on the board, I might win. I got a jankiness to my game.” Rose isn’t alone in his passion. Chess holds widespread popularity throughout the NBA — as evidenced by Sunday’s event, which featured current and former players such as Quinten Post and Tony Snell. But this shared passion also had a strange aura around it, almost cultish, as Rose described. For instance, former Bulls teammate Drew Gooden is an avid chess player, yet he never mentioned it while he shared a locker room with Rose. So why don’t NBA players talk about chess? “I have no idea,” Rose said with a laugh.
USA Basketball: Tony Snell has been added to the November 🇺🇸 Men's AmeriCup Qualifying roster. The USA Men host 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico (Nov. 22) & 🇧🇸 Bahamas (Nov. 25) in Washington, D.C.
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Tony Snell to join Miami Heat's G League affiliate
Michael Scotto: Nine-year NBA veteran Tony Snell is joining the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Miami Heat’s G League affiliate, league sources told @hoopshype . The 32-year-old swingman has averaged 6.1 points and shot 39.4% from 3-point range in nine NBA seasons.
One big thing sets this Isleworth home apart from all the others — a 6,060-square-foot showstopper. “I think obviously the dominant thing that everybody could see is going to be that it had a full NBA-sized, regulation basketball court indoors,” listing agent Danielle O’Quinn with Wemert Group Realty told GrowthSpotter. “That was a big sort of anomaly feature that you don’t find in most other properties.”
The home on Blanche Cove Dr in Windermere that was designed and built for NBA veteran Tony Snell and his family just sold for $13 million. Snell was a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 2013 and played nine years in the league. His wife, Ashley Snell, launched a self-titled athleisure clothing brand and has a store in Winter Park Village.
Tony Snell still determined to get his 10th year of service in the NBA
As for that NBA career, Tony Snell is still plugging away. He’s logged nine NBA seasons and spent this past year helping lead the Maine Celtics to the G-League championship. He’s determined to get that 10th year of NBA service as much to feed his competitive juices as to take care of his family.
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The NBA pension kicks in for players after three seasons. Healthcare benefits for a spouse and children kick in once a player gets credit for his 10th season of service. "I didn't make it this far to make it (just) this far," he said. "I’m really trying to get that 10th year to take care of my family for life."
Since his diagnosis and appearance on the Today Show in 2023, Tony says he feels blessed. While talking may not be his favorite thing to do, it does come much easier to him as he now has an opportunity to help through a story to share. Part of that opportunity is to try to help make a world where an autism diagnosis does not define nor limit his sons in any way. He has their backs, he is proud to tell people. While Tony’s happy to have clarity now, he said he has doubts that he would have been in the NBA had he been diagnosed with autism earlier in his life. “Probably not, honestly, because there wasn’t much research or that much knowledge of what autism was back in the day,” he said.
What are the NBPA rules for its retiree benefits program? If a player has three or more years of service, they are eligible to receive health insurance for as long as the NBA and NBPA continue to agree to it into the CBA. This covers medical, hospital and prescription drug coverage and reduced out-of-pocket costs for the player and his family, per the policy. For seven or more years of service, the player gets a premium plan that has lower deductibles and lower co-pays, per the NBPA policy. If you have 10 or more years of service, the player gets that premium plan for himself and his family.
Because Snell has played nine seasons (seven or more years of service), he is currently on a health insurance plan that covers medical, hospital and prescription drug coverage. Snell is among players with three or more years of service time (beginning at the 2001 season) who have access to a $150,000 health reimbursement arrangement, per the CBA. That HRA was unrestricted but then capped in the 2017 CBA at $150,000 but no player had to give money back if they were above it. That money is then invested until it is used. Annual contributions to the HRA were also capped at $30,000 in 2017. For a player with that many years of service, the amounts contributed to his account should total over $200,000. If Snell does get signed, he gets the premium health insurance plan, where he and his whole family — including his two kids — are covered.
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