Upon leaving in 1953 , he turned down a $ 35,000 a year offer from the Philadelphia Warriors that would have made him the second-highest paid player in the NBA . Instead , he started his own barnstorming team , the Harlem Magicians . Upon leaving in 1953 , he turned down a $ 35,000 a year offer from the Philadelphia Warriors that would have made him the second-highest paid player in the NBA , to found his own barnstorming team , the Harlem Magicians .