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Tristan Thompson is stepping into a new role.
Thompson, who is currently on the Cleveland Cavaliers, has announced that he will be joining AxonDAO, a medical-science research platform, per PEOPLE. The Cavaliers star will serve as the company's Chief Advisory Officer,
“I'm really attracted to things that can actually help society, and I think in the crypto, blockchain world, people are making amazing things each and every day that can change the world,” says Thompson of the company who urges users to be knowledgeable of their health data.
“But for Axon, it's combining AI with health, and for me, it hits close to home with my brother Amari,” he says.
Thompson's little brother, Amari Thompson, has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a severe form of epilepsy. He requires around-the-clock care. Tristan shared that Amari has two full-time caregivers who have been very supportive of the family.
“They've been a blessing and angels in disguise, especially with my mom passing away, being able to meet two amazing human beings that really helped me with this journey,” he says of his late mother Andrea Thompson, who died in 2023. Tristan now has legal guardianship over Amari.
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“Because you need a village. When you have family members that go through stuff, it doesn't take one person. You need a village to help build everyone up and pick everyone up because some days are tougher than others. So I've been very fortunate with that,” Tristan added.
After speaking with different kinds of people, Tristan shares that he was able to see how using his family's story would be useful to others.
“You meet so many people from different walks of life. I've met teachers, I've met people at the casino, a regular person just playing on the blackjack table talking to me, people just randomly at the coffee shop,” he continues. “Most importantly, I'm able to put myself and our family in a vulnerable position where we can open up and talk about this.”
Tristan explains that Axon is “giving us as humans back the right and control of our medical history.” With the use of AI technology users can have “full access to their health data.”
The NBA star gave an example of how it can help everyday people with their medical data, “Let's say, God forbid, you're on a trip and you get sick, you go to this physician and instead of you going through that headache of getting your records and get it sent over, which could take days, you have that access on your phone or on a mobile device where you'll be able to provide that information.”
Tristan adds that he wants to use his platform outside of the NBA to help others.
“I think that's why you see this whole narrative change where athletes want to be more than just sports,” he says. “We want to be businessmen. They want to be creators and developers. And for myself, that's what I want to be. I want to be an innovator. I want to do something that's always being five steps ahead of the curve.”
