From Playing Steph Curry to Helping 500+ Athletes: Alex Opacic on Life After Sport | AJ EP14

Introducing “Athlete’s Journey – Winning On & Off The Field”, a special podcast series exploring the financial journeys of athletes through the eyes of some of Australia’s most influential sporting figures. In Episode 14, host Brent Read and co-host Chris Lawrence sit down with former AIS and NCAA Division I basketballer and Athlete2Business founder and CEO Alex Opacic. After transitioning from football to basketball as a teenager, Alex earned a scholarship to the AIS before continuing his career in the United States. He competed alongside future Australian basketball stars including Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes, and even faced a young Steph Curry during his college career. Alex later played professionally across Europe, but a serious knee injury brought his ambitions to an unexpected end. Returning to Australia at 25, he opens up about feeling lost, struggling to accept that his basketball career was over and facing the challenge of building a new identity outside sport. The conversation explores how Alex found his way into sales, recognised the qualities athletes can bring into business and transformed a side hustle into Athlete2Business—a company that has now directly and indirectly supported more than 500 athletes across Australia and the United States with their career transitions. Alex also discusses the financial realities athletes can encounter when their sporting income ends, adjusting salary expectations, investing his European earnings into his first property and the importance of coaching, upskilling and building a strong professional network. An honest and insightful conversation about identity, resilience, career transition and discovering a new purpose after professional sport. Don’t miss this powerful episode on turning the lessons developed through sport into long-term success beyond the game. #AthletesJourney #WinningOnAndOffTheField #AlexOpacic #Athlete2Business #ChrisLawrence #BrentRead #LifeAfterSport #AthleteTransition #BasketballAustralia #NCAABasketball #CareerDevelopment #SportsBusiness