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Harrison Barnes has been planning to open a bank near his Iowa hometown for years
Longtime NBA veteran Harrison Barnes made headlines this week after it was reported that he’d purchased the Community State Bank in Paton, Iowa, and put $25 million of his own money into the bank. Tyrese Haliburton said he’s been planning it for years.
According to NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes told him during his rookie season that he was going to open a bank near his hometown in Iowa. Barnes recently said he wanted to invest in banking as he entered the final years of his professional playing career.
Harrison Barnes told Tyrese Haliburton during his rookie year that he planned to open a bank in Iowa and has done exactly that six years later
Haliburton said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing at the time. Six years later, Barnes came good on his promised plans, and Haliburton remembered him calling his shot back in 2020.
“HB told me this was the plan my rookie year!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That was the first time I realized dudes in the NBA got real families and are real adults like wtf lol,” Haliburton tweeted.
HB told me this was the plan my rookie year!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That was the first time I realized dudes in the NBA got real families and are real adults like wtf lol https://t.co/OLo3W3nzLe
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) August 29, 2026
Barnes, a 14-year NBA veteran from Ames, Iowa, recently purchased Community State Bank in Paton, Iowa — a small rural town about an hour northwest of Ames — and invested $25 million of his own money into the acquisition.
The former NBA champion has seemingly been preparing for this moment for years, having completed courses at the Iowa School of Banking and served on bank boards to further enhance his business acumen.
“I think what makes Community State Bank, so special, are [sic] really just how this bank was formed. But, the leadership of (CEO) Craig (Marquardt) and Jake (Bohnet) has been phenomenal. And I think that when you are talking about banking, you’re talking about trust and I think the leadership that those guys exemplify on a day-to-day basis makes it exciting to want to support and build upon the legacy that they can say that’s been here now for 70 years,” Barnes said in an interview with Raccoon Valley Radio.
“I think the biggest thing is that you have to be where your feet are. When I’m focused on basketball and I’m in that lane, I’m 100 percent a basketball player. When I’m here trying to figure out how to best support and serve Community State Bank, I’m 100-percent in this lane, right? When I’m at home and I’m with my family, I’m 100-percent a husband and a father right? Like, I think every time that you step into a room, you step into a space, you are 100-percent where you’re feet are at, and that’s how I find the balance.”
Barnes, 34 years old, was drafted out of the University of North Carolina by the Golden State Warriors with the 7th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Barnes won an NBA title with the Warriors in 2015 befdore joiningt he Dallas Mavericks in 2016. He spent three seasons with Dallas before being traded to the Sacramento Kings, where he played from 2019 to 2024. Barnes has spent the last two seasons of his career with the San Antonio Spurs and served as a veteran presence on their Western Conference-winning team last year.