THE FUSE

Isaiah Stewart made his name doing the parts of basketball that most players avoid, and the toughness has paid him well. The bruising big man, who spent the core of his career with the Detroit Pistons, has built a personal fortune estimated between $8 million and $10 million, drawn almost entirely from his NBA contract and a handful of early investments. He is not a billionaire, and there is no hidden business empire behind him, but he has turned a role few stars want into real financial security.