He may be a footnote on the stat sheet, but Mat Ishbia's impact is most felt off the hardwood, even though he attributes much of his success to what the game of basketball taught him.
Ishbia was a walk-on, for the Michigan State Spartans in the late 90s, under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.
He was part of teams that went to three Final Fours and won the national title in 2000.
On the final possession of that National Championship game against Florida, Ishbia attempted an all-out reverse lay up high off the backboard glass.
The shot didn’t make it, but MSU was already up by double digits.
Fans who knew of Ishbia’s playing days call him a ‘human victory cigar.’
If he was on the court for the Spartans, they had already won.
Just because the score reflected a victory, didn’t mean Ishbia was riding coattails to celebrate.
Izzo wanted him on the team because what he lacked in traditional basketball size, was in his heart.
Once he left school, Ishbia rose through the ranks of his father's mortgage company. Becoming the new CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country.
Last year, Ishbia made headlines in the college sports world as he gave the single biggest donation to MSU athletics history, $32M.
“(MSU is) where I've been able to grow as a person, as a father, as an adult, just as a leader is all tied to coach Izzo,” said Ishbia on a press call after the donation was made.
Ishbia and his brother Justin with Legacy Partners, LLC announced last month that they plan to be Robert Sarver's successor as the new Majority owners of the Suns and Mercury.
After 18 years as the Suns owner, Sarver stepped down as the Majority owner of both the Suns and Mercury after an independent review found workplace conduct and culture issues under his helm.
The new deal is worth a reported, NBA record-breaking $4B.
ABC15 heard from one of those starters who played with Ishbia. Aloysius Anagonye said 'Ish' took his role on MSU's prep-team seriously.
Responsible for getting the starters ready for tip off.
Qualities of a good teammate, telling ABC15, "he's not telling people they're not good enough for him, he's trying to say, we can improve together. You can tell by the way he does his company, he tried to never fire somebody."
Once he's given the keys to the Footprint Center, Anagonye says to give his former teammate some time to build that winning culture he learned right from the game he loves.
"A guy who can understand who can set culture, a brand-new culture, he's the perfect guy for the organization Because he's a guy who can come into the organization with heart, not wallets,” said Anagonye.
After a Tuesday home game on Dec 20th, the Suns Legacy Partners, LLC issued a statement with from both Sarver and Ishbia.
Sarver said in part Ishbia is the “Right leader to build on a franchise of legacies of winning…”
Ishbia winning the bid to own these two important valley franchises is a “…dream come true for my entire family, including my parents, my three children, and my brother Justin, who will be making a significant investment with me and bring his incredible business acumen and shared passion for basketball.”
