WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 You know, I was at a game just last week. It 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:05.599 was one of those electric nights, fourth quarter, 00:00:05.780 --> 00:00:09.380 tie game, absolute bedlam in the arena. The best 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.060 kind of chaos. Oh, the best. That's why we go, 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:13.580 right? The point guard is dribbling out the clock. 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:15.720 The coach is just, I mean, screaming his lungs 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:17.960 out on the sideline. Fans are spilling beer on 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:20.219 each other. It was just pure chaos. I love that. 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.579 Exactly. But then right before the final shot, 00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:27.280 the camera pans up. And it goes past the sweating 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:29.480 players, past the manic coach, you know, past 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:32.640 the nosebleed seats. And it locks onto a luxury 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.659 suite way, way up in the rafter. Fishbowl. The 00:00:35.659 --> 00:00:37.740 fishbowl, exactly. And there's a guy standing 00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:39.859 there. He's usually wearing a suit that, like, 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.679 costs more than my car, arms crossed, face completely 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.359 stoic. He looks like he's watching a funeral 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:47.439 while everyone else is at this massive party. 00:00:47.899 --> 00:00:50.920 And it hit me. We spend thousands of hours analyzing 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:53.000 the guys on the floor, but we almost never talk 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.289 about that guy. The architect. The architect. 00:00:55.630 --> 00:00:58.170 The person who decided which players are on that 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:00.630 floor, who hired the coach that's screaming at 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:03.369 them, and who is probably doing mental math on 00:01:03.369 --> 00:01:05.489 next year's luxury tax apron while the rest of 00:01:05.489 --> 00:01:08.989 us are just praying for a bucket. It is arguably 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:11.030 the most stressful job in professional sports. 00:01:11.590 --> 00:01:13.969 I mean, you are the invisible hand. When things 00:01:13.969 --> 00:01:16.890 go well, players get the shoe deals. When things 00:01:16.890 --> 00:01:19.430 go bad, you're the one packing up your office. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:22.000 And that is exactly where we are going today. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.099 We are walking off the court, taking the elevator 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:29.040 to the executive level and kicking down the door 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:31.219 of the front office. We are doing a deep dive 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:34.200 into the NBA Executive of the Year Award. This 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:35.739 is one of my favorite topics because it's right 00:01:35.739 --> 00:01:38.540 at the intersection of art and science. You have 00:01:38.540 --> 00:01:40.680 the money ball aspect, the data, the cap management, 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:44.060 asset accumulation, all that stuff. The spreadsheets. 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:45.599 The spreadsheets. Yeah. But then you have the 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:48.299 human element, ego management, negotiation, just 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:52.010 pure. gut instincts. It's fascinating territory. 00:01:52.390 --> 00:01:54.450 And we aren't just guessing here. We have a serious 00:01:54.450 --> 00:01:57.030 stack of source material to get through. We're 00:01:57.030 --> 00:01:59.549 looking at the official historical records, the 00:01:59.549 --> 00:02:03.129 complete winner lists, and the organizational 00:02:03.129 --> 00:02:06.189 data spanning over 50 years of NBA history. A 00:02:06.189 --> 00:02:09.710 huge sample size. A huge sample size. And our 00:02:09.710 --> 00:02:13.409 mission today, to figure out who actually wins 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:16.909 the decade, not just the game. I love that distinction. 00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:19.150 Because there's an old adage in front office 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:21.330 circles that really, really rings true. Players 00:02:21.330 --> 00:02:26.870 win games. Coaches win series. Okay. But executives, 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:29.969 executives win decades. They build the ecosystems 00:02:29.969 --> 00:02:31.849 that allow all that winning to happen in the 00:02:31.849 --> 00:02:34.889 first place. Executives win decades. I'm going 00:02:34.889 --> 00:02:36.430 to write that down. That's our mantra for today. 00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:38.770 It has to be. I mean, think about the great dynasties, 00:02:38.789 --> 00:02:40.930 the Celtics of the 60s, the Bulls of the 90s, 00:02:40.930 --> 00:02:43.210 the Spurs, the Warriors. None of those happened 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:46.280 by accident. Right. They were engineered. Decisions 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:48.300 were made years in advance that allowed those 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:50.620 moments on the court to even exist. And today 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:52.319 we're going to find out who the best engineers 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.719 were. OK, so before we start naming names and 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:58.099 we have some massive ones from the godfather 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:00.599 of Phoenix to the legend himself, Larry Bird, 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:04.020 we need to set the ground rules. Let's unpack 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:07.300 the mechanics of this. What exactly is this award? 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:10.979 Is it just like the MVP for old guys in suits? 00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:14.080 Not quite, though. The demographic is certainly 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.419 older than the roster. The award is officially 00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:19.340 the NBA Executive of the Year, and it's given 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:21.419 annually to the league's top decision maker. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:24.080 Okay, so the GM, basically. It can be the general 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.120 manager. Sometimes it's the president of basketball 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:28.919 operations. The title on the business card can 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:31.900 vary. But it goes to the person who is undeniably 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:34.539 calling the shots on personnel. And how far back 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:36.199 does our data go? What's our starting point? 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:39.680 We are starting in the 1972 -73 season. That 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.930 is our year zero. Wow. OK, so that's crucial 00:03:41.930 --> 00:03:45.110 context. 1973. The NBA is a very, very different 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:47.009 place compared to today. Oh, completely. We're 00:03:47.009 --> 00:03:48.389 talking about a league that hasn't even fully 00:03:48.389 --> 00:03:50.430 merged with the ABA yet. There is no three point 00:03:50.430 --> 00:03:53.110 line. The salary cap didn't exist in the structured 00:03:53.110 --> 00:03:55.430 way we know it. Free agency was what, just a 00:03:55.430 --> 00:03:58.110 rumor? Practically medieval. So the job of an 00:03:58.110 --> 00:04:01.469 executive back in 73 was fundamentally different. 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:04.310 It was about scouting and, you know, handshake 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:08.189 deals today. It's about capology, analytics, 00:04:08.430 --> 00:04:12.479 and managing a global brand. So one was a talent 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:14.719 scout who smokes cigars in a back room and the 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:17.259 other is a mathematician with an algorithm. That's 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:19.360 a perfect way to put it. But the goal, you know, 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.759 the core goal remains the same. The accumulation 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:24.680 of talent to win a championship. Now, I found 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.379 something in the notes about the voting process 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:28.579 that actually kind of shocked me. I just assumed 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:32.019 like the MVP or the all NBA teams that this was 00:04:32.019 --> 00:04:34.560 voted on by the media. You know, the beat writers 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:36.939 and the national pundits who drive the narrative. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.680 That is a very, very common misconception. And 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:41.019 to be fair for a lot. long time, it was a bit 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:44.079 muddy. So prior to 2009, the award was actually 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.180 presented by the Sporting News, which is a publication. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.060 Oh, OK. It was recognized by the NBA, but it 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:50.959 was technically given out by a media entity. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:54.339 But then in 2009, the NBA officially took the 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:56.160 awarding duties in -house. All right. So the 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.379 league takes control. Who gets the ballot now? 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:01.620 Is it a committee? This is what makes this award 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:05.920 perhaps the most cutthroat honor in the entire 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:10.319 league. The voting is conducted by the executives 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.680 of the league's 30 teams. Wait, wait. So it's 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:15.860 a peer vote? It is strictly a peer vote. Stop 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:17.620 and think about the psychology of that for a 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:19.519 second. This isn't a sports writer who loves 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:21.959 a good underdog story voting for you. This is 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:23.660 the guy you were screaming out on the phone two 00:05:23.660 --> 00:05:25.500 months ago during the trade deadline. Exactly. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.519 It's the guy you tried to fleece in a deal. It's 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:30.899 the guy whose free agent target you stole at 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:34.420 the 11th hour. It's the guy who is actively plotting 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:36.920 to get you fired so he can take your job or, 00:05:36.939 --> 00:05:39.240 you know, poach your star player. And that is 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:40.779 the person who has to sit down with a ballot 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:43.160 and check the box next to your name. That's the 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.000 guy. So does that make the award more valid or 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:46.800 does it make it more political? I would argue 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.240 it makes it significantly more valid. Think about 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:53.420 it. A writer looks at a team that wins 50 games 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:57.220 and says, Wow, great season. A rival GM looks 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:00.079 at that same team and knows, wait a minute, he 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.360 managed to get off that terrible contract, he 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:04.199 used the mid -level exception perfectly to get 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:07.040 that bench score, and he found a starter in the 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.000 second round of the draft. They see the degree 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:11.339 of difficulty. They respect the degree of difficulty. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.639 They know how hard it is to do what you just 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:16.550 did. Real recognize real. Exactly. But you're 00:06:16.550 --> 00:06:18.490 right to mention politics. Of course there are 00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:20.709 rivalries. There are cliques. Maybe you don't 00:06:20.709 --> 00:06:22.610 vote for the guy who embarrassed you in the press. 00:06:22.790 --> 00:06:25.470 But generally speaking, over a 50 -year sample 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:29.550 size, the cream rises to the top. If you win 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:31.689 this award, it means your enemies had to admit 00:06:31.689 --> 00:06:33.689 you were better than them that year. That is 00:06:33.689 --> 00:06:38.490 a heavy crown to wear. My enemies chose me. Okay, 00:06:38.629 --> 00:06:40.110 so we know the stakes. Let's get into the history 00:06:40.110 --> 00:06:42.970 books. When we look at the gold standard of MBA 00:06:42.970 --> 00:06:45.529 executives, Who is the guy on the mountaintop? 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:48.050 There is one name that just dominates the data. 00:06:48.629 --> 00:06:50.709 If we are talking about the godfather of the 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:53.250 front office, it is undoubtedly Jerry Colangelo. 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:57.129 The face of Phoenix basketball. For, like, ever. 00:06:57.410 --> 00:06:59.970 He is the undisputed king of this award. He is 00:06:59.970 --> 00:07:02.370 the only person in NBA history to win it four 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:05.029 times. Four times. I feel like in the modern 00:07:05.029 --> 00:07:08.009 NBA, most GMs don't even last four years in the 00:07:08.009 --> 00:07:10.329 job. The turnover rate is just incredibly high. 00:07:10.449 --> 00:07:11.990 I mean, if you miss the playoffs two years in 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:13.689 a row, you're usually updating your LinkedIn 00:07:13.689 --> 00:07:16.350 profile. Right, you're gone. For Colangelo to 00:07:16.350 --> 00:07:19.470 win four times, it implies a level of longevity 00:07:19.470 --> 00:07:22.810 that is almost impossible to replicate in the 00:07:22.810 --> 00:07:25.509 modern game. And looking at the data here, these 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:27.930 weren't four wins in a five -year span where 00:07:27.930 --> 00:07:30.009 he just had one great roster and kind of rode 00:07:30.009 --> 00:07:32.689 the wave. No, and that's the genius of his resume. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.899 Let's look at the timeline because the dates 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:38.040 really tell the story of his adaptability. His 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:41.360 first win is in 1976. Okay, set the scene for 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:44.199 76. That's the Sensational Suns, right? A team 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:46.879 that finished 42 -40, barely made the playoffs, 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.199 and then went on this miracle run to the NBA 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:51.480 Finals against the Celtics. That's the famous 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:53.959 Gar Hurd shot era. The shot heard around the 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:56.560 world. Exactly. So he built a Cinderella story 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:59.519 in the chaos of the post -merger 70s. And then 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.199 he wins again in 1981, then again in 1989, and 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:07.319 his final win is in 1993. Pause on that. 1976 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.920 to 1993. That is a 17 -year gap between the first 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:14.370 and last trophy. Think about how much the sport 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:18.089 itself changed in that window. In 1976, there's 00:08:18.089 --> 00:08:20.129 no three -point line. The league has a different 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:22.829 kind of public image. The finals were on tape 00:08:22.829 --> 00:08:24.870 delay. The finals were on tape delay. And by 00:08:24.870 --> 00:08:28.389 1993, you have the global explosion of the Dream 00:08:28.389 --> 00:08:30.769 Team, the marketing machine of the Jordan era, 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:33.470 and the salary cap is fully instituted. It's 00:08:33.470 --> 00:08:35.789 a different universe. And Colangelo mastered 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:38.500 all of it. He didn't just survive the changes, 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:42.080 he exploited them. Take the 1989 win. He orchestrated 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:45.139 this massive turnaround by trading away a proven 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:47.840 all -star, Larry Nance, to Cleveland. A move 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.580 which usually gets you fired if it doesn't work 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:51.980 out. Oh, immediately. But in return, he got Kevin 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:53.720 Johnson, who became the point guard of the future, 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:55.960 and Mark West, and a bunch of other pieces. People 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:58.220 thought he was crazy, trading Nance. But he saw 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:00.740 where the game was going. Faster, more guard 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:02.480 -oriented. He was ahead of the curve. And then 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:04.559 1993. That's the big one. That's the Charles 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:07.230 Barkley trade. The blockbuster. He looks at a 00:09:07.230 --> 00:09:10.490 roster that is good but not great. They had won 00:09:10.490 --> 00:09:13.409 53 games the year before, and he decides. It's 00:09:13.409 --> 00:09:15.769 not enough. He pushes all his chips into the 00:09:15.769 --> 00:09:17.610 middle of the table to get Charles Barkley from 00:09:17.610 --> 00:09:20.549 Philadelphia. Which is terrifying for a GM. Barkley 00:09:20.549 --> 00:09:23.250 was controversial. He had baggage. If that trade 00:09:23.250 --> 00:09:25.830 busts, Colangelo's entire legacy is tarnished. 00:09:25.909 --> 00:09:28.129 But he saw the fit. Yeah. That team wins 62 games. 00:09:28.269 --> 00:09:31.110 Barkley wins MVP. Colangelo wins executive of 00:09:31.110 --> 00:09:33.149 the year. And they go to the finals against Jordan's 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:35.570 Bulls. So Colangelo essentially built three or 00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:38.330 four completely distinct iterations of the Phoenix 00:09:38.330 --> 00:09:41.009 Suns and made them all contenders. Which is exactly 00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:43.840 why the Phoenix Suns. as a franchise, are the 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.340 leaders in this clubhouse. When we look at the 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:49.399 total awards by team, Phoenix is sitting at hashtag 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:52.659 one with six total wins, four from Jerry, and 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:54.740 two others we'll get to later. It is absolutely 00:09:54.740 --> 00:09:57.399 wild that they have six Executive of the Year 00:09:57.399 --> 00:10:00.039 awards but zero championships to show for it. 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:02.759 That is the cruel irony of the architect, isn't 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.360 it? You can build a perfect house, but you can't 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.980 control the weather. Colangelo ran into the 76 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:11.419 Celtics and Jordan in 93. He did his job perfectly. 00:10:11.850 --> 00:10:14.009 The ball just didn't bounce their way in the 00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:16.289 end. It really highlights that difference between 00:10:16.289 --> 00:10:19.669 process and result. The peers voted for him because 00:10:19.669 --> 00:10:22.490 the process was flawless, even if the final result 00:10:22.490 --> 00:10:25.289 wasn't a ring. Exactly. Now, Colangelo represents 00:10:25.289 --> 00:10:28.450 the pure executive, the guy in the suit who started 00:10:28.450 --> 00:10:31.049 in the front office. But there is another archetype 00:10:31.049 --> 00:10:34.230 in our data that I find fascinating. Okay. The 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:37.289 player who walks directly off the court and immediately 00:10:37.289 --> 00:10:39.830 into the boardroom. The legends. And nobody, 00:10:40.090 --> 00:10:43.169 I mean nobody, embodies his transition better 00:10:43.169 --> 00:10:45.929 than the man from French Lick. Cliff Bird. We 00:10:45.929 --> 00:10:48.669 have to just stop and appreciate the sheer absurdity 00:10:48.669 --> 00:10:51.210 of Larry Bird's resume. It reads like fan fiction. 00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:54.309 It doesn't seem real. In 2012, Larry Bird won 00:10:54.309 --> 00:10:56.230 the Executive of the Year award with the Indiana 00:10:56.230 --> 00:10:59.850 Pacers. In doing so, he became the only human 00:10:59.850 --> 00:11:02.490 being in history to complete the Holy Trinity 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:04.990 of the NBA. Okay, break that down for us. What's 00:11:04.990 --> 00:11:08.269 the Trinity? He wins NBA Most Valuable Player 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:10.570 as a Player. We all know that. He won three straight. 00:11:10.769 --> 00:11:13.320 Check. He wins NBA Coach of the Year as a head 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.480 coach, which he did with the Pacers in 1998, 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:18.820 leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals. 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:21.480 Also check. And then he wins Executive of the 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:24.620 Year. MVP, Coach of the Year, Exec of the Year. 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.240 He completed basketball. He really did. He got 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.019 100 % on the final exam. And we have to appreciate 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:33.919 how hard that is because the skill sets for those 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.000 three jobs usually conflict with each other. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:38.259 How so? I mean, you'd think a great player would 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:40.059 know what a great player looks like, right? You'd 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:42.860 think so. But history shows us what we call the 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:46.279 great player curse. Great players often struggle 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:48.919 to coach because they lack patience. They can't 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:51.840 understand why a role player can't just shoot 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:54.419 like I did or see the floor the way I did. Right. 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:56.940 Magic Johnson's coaching career was short. It 00:11:56.940 --> 00:12:00.539 was very short. And Michael Jordan famously has 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:02.960 had a very, very rocky road in the front office. 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:05.980 They trust their gut too much or they just get 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:08.700 frustrated with mediocrity. Then look at the 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:12.250 other transition. From coach to exec, great coaches 00:12:12.250 --> 00:12:15.669 often struggle as executives because they are, 00:12:15.870 --> 00:12:20.409 by necessity, myopic. Myopic how? A coach cares 00:12:20.409 --> 00:12:22.730 about winning the game tonight because if he 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:26.049 loses 10 in a row, he's fired. An executive needs 00:12:26.049 --> 00:12:28.029 to care about the salary cap three years from 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:30.389 now. Oh, that's a great point. The coach wants 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:32.850 to trade the first -round pick for a 35 -year 00:12:32.850 --> 00:12:35.149 -old veteran who can help grab rebounds now. 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:37.590 Exactly. And the executive wants to hoard that 00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:40.149 pick for the future. They are naturally opposing 00:12:40.149 --> 00:12:43.289 forces. The coach wants to survive the day. The 00:12:43.289 --> 00:12:45.710 executive wants to survive the decade. And Bird 00:12:45.710 --> 00:12:48.730 somehow mastered both mindsets. Bird is the anomaly 00:12:48.730 --> 00:12:50.769 who understood the rhythm of the player, the 00:12:50.769 --> 00:12:53.149 tactics of the coach, and the long -term strategy 00:12:53.149 --> 00:12:55.230 of the executive. Is there anyone else who even 00:12:55.230 --> 00:12:57.570 comes close to that triple crown? No one has 00:12:57.570 --> 00:13:01.169 all three. But there is a very small, very exclusive 00:13:01.169 --> 00:13:03.830 group we call the Coach Executive Club. These 00:13:03.830 --> 00:13:05.470 are the guys who have won both Coach of the Year 00:13:05.470 --> 00:13:07.730 and Executive of the Year. Okay, so who has a 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:10.769 membership card to that club? Red Auerbach, the 00:13:10.769 --> 00:13:13.509 patriarch of the Celtics. He won Coach of the 00:13:13.509 --> 00:13:16.029 Year in 65 and then Executive of the Year in 00:13:16.029 --> 00:13:19.009 1980. The guy who invented the Victory Cigar. 00:13:19.009 --> 00:13:21.309 Of course he's in. Then you have Frank Layden 00:13:21.309 --> 00:13:23.529 with the Utah Jazz, who won the Exec Award in 00:13:23.529 --> 00:13:26.850 84. And Pat Riley. The Godfather Part II. Riley 00:13:26.850 --> 00:13:28.789 is interesting. He won Coach of the Year multiple 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:32.330 times with the Lakers, Knicks, and Heat. He won 00:13:32.330 --> 00:13:34.750 the Executive Award in 2011 with the Miami Heat, 00:13:34.950 --> 00:13:37.070 though it was technically a shared award that 00:13:37.070 --> 00:13:41.450 year with Gar Foreman. So Auerbach, Bird, Riley. 00:13:41.789 --> 00:13:44.789 Think about those names. These are the sharpest, 00:13:44.789 --> 00:13:47.429 toughest, most demanding minds in the history 00:13:47.429 --> 00:13:49.649 of the sport. Yeah, they aren't exactly the player's 00:13:49.649 --> 00:13:52.029 friend type of leader. They're culture setters. 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:54.850 Exactly. But it's a very short list. It proves 00:13:54.850 --> 00:13:57.210 that while you can do both, it's exceptionally 00:13:57.210 --> 00:14:00.210 rare to be elite at both. Most coaches who try 00:14:00.210 --> 00:14:02.370 to run the front office, well, they end up getting 00:14:02.370 --> 00:14:04.669 fired from both jobs. Speaking of elite, I want 00:14:04.669 --> 00:14:06.549 to talk about the logo, because you can't have 00:14:06.549 --> 00:14:09.149 a conversation about NBA architects without discussing 00:14:09.149 --> 00:14:12.169 Jerry West. You really can't. If Colangelo is 00:14:12.169 --> 00:14:14.850 the longevity king, Jerry West is the adaptability 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:18.190 king. He won the award twice, and the locations 00:14:18.190 --> 00:14:21.220 of those two wins tell the entire story. They 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:24.580 really do. His first win comes in 1995 with the 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:26.659 Los Angeles Lakers. Okay, let's play devil's 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:28.519 advocate here for a second. It's the Lakers. 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:31.159 You have the weather, the Hollywood stars, the 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:33.620 history. Is it really that hard to recruit people 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:36.279 to L .A.? That's always the knock on the Lakers' 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:40.039 job. The logo sells itself. The weather recruits 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:43.340 for you. But West did something remarkable in 00:14:43.340 --> 00:14:46.799 95. This was the post -Magic Johnson era. The 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:48.539 team had totally collapsed. They were supposed 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:50.379 to be dead in the water for a decade. Right. 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:52.740 Showtime was over. And Wes rebuilt them on the 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:55.360 fly with guys he drafted, like Nick Van Exel 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:58.480 and Eddie Jones and Vlade Divac. He showed he 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:00.799 could draft and develop, not just write big checks 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.820 for superstars. But the real mic drop moment 00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:06.200 for his legacy was his second win. Oh, yeah. 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:09.820 2004. The Memphis Grizzlies. You cannot get further 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:12.360 from Hollywood, both literally and figuratively, 00:15:12.539 --> 00:15:14.840 than Memphis, Tennessee. It's a small market, 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:17.019 a franchise that, let's be honest, had been a 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:18.679 laughingstock since they moved from Vancouver. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:21.940 No history of winning. No appeal as a free agent 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:24.120 destination. None. If you can win there, you 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.620 can win anywhere. And he did. He went there and 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:30.220 built a 50 -win team with Pau Gasol and Hubie 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.860 Brown coaching. That is the ultimate validation. 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:35.919 It proved that Jerry West wasn't just successful 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.240 because he had the Lakers checkbook or the forum's 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.500 allure. He was successful because he had the 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:43.679 best eye for talent in the league. He found value 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.059 where others saw nothing. It's the ultimate I 00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:48.700 can build a winner in a cave with a box of scraps 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:50.840 moment. That's exactly what it is. Now, we've 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:52.500 been throwing around all these awards, 1995, 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:56.990 2004, 1976. But there's a burning question that 00:15:56.990 --> 00:15:59.090 I have. We talked about process versus result 00:15:59.090 --> 00:16:01.850 with Colangelo. Does the executive of the year 00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:04.110 actually win the championship in the same season? 00:16:04.690 --> 00:16:06.850 You would assume the correlation is one to one, 00:16:06.929 --> 00:16:09.429 right? The best executive builds the best team. 00:16:09.450 --> 00:16:11.950 The best team wins the ring. It makes perfect 00:16:11.950 --> 00:16:15.309 sense to me. The data says absolutely not. Really? 00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:17.629 That's surprising. It is actually surprisingly 00:16:17.629 --> 00:16:20.210 rare for the executive of the year to be the 00:16:20.210 --> 00:16:22.470 one hoisting the Larry O 'Brien trophy in June. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:25.240 Okay, why is that? What's the logic there? It 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:27.500 goes right back to the voting psychology we discussed 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:30.899 at the top. Remember who is voting. The other 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:35.039 29 GMs. His peers. His peers. If you have a super 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.919 team, say the 90s Bulls or the KD Warriors, the 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:40.799 other GMs look at that and they say, well, yeah, 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.000 you won. You have Michael Jordan. That's easy 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.120 mode. So they don't give you credit for maintaining 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:46.980 the Ferrari. They give you credit for fixing 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.860 the broken down Honda Civic. That is a perfect, 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.090 perfect analogy. The award almost always goes 00:16:53.090 --> 00:16:55.830 to the turnaround story. The team that was projected 00:16:55.830 --> 00:16:59.309 to win 25 games and won 45. The voters are impressed 00:16:59.309 --> 00:17:01.769 by the delta, the change. You took a complete 00:17:01.769 --> 00:17:04.009 mess and made it a playoff team. That's impressive. 00:17:04.269 --> 00:17:06.470 So who are the rare exceptions? Who actually 00:17:06.470 --> 00:17:08.630 pulled off the double dip? We have to look at 00:17:08.630 --> 00:17:11.130 the bolded names in our records. These are the 00:17:11.130 --> 00:17:14.220 guys who defied that turnaround bias. Red Auerbach 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:16.700 did it in 1980s. The Celtics won the title and 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:18.640 he won the award. That was the year he pulled 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:20.819 off the heist of the century to get Kevin McHale 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:23.400 and Robert Parrish. That's the one. He traded 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:25.779 the number one overall pick to Golden State for 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:28.819 Parrish and the number three pick, which he then 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:33.039 used on McHale. It is widely considered the single 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:35.779 greatest trade in NBA history. If you commit 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:38.680 grand larceny like that, your peers have to give 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:40.319 you the award. Okay, so you have to do something 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:43.200 legendary. Who else? Jerry Krause did it in 1996 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:47.039 with the Bulls. The 72 -10 season. You just can't 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:49.900 ignore 72 wins. Even if the other GMs were jealous 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:52.619 of Jordan, that level of dominance was undeniable. 00:17:52.970 --> 00:17:55.529 And Kraus had also retooled the roster that year, 00:17:55.549 --> 00:17:57.589 bringing in Dennis Rodman. Which was a massive 00:17:57.589 --> 00:17:59.529 risk at the time. A huge risk that paid off. 00:17:59.670 --> 00:18:02.650 And then more recently, Danny Ainge in 2008 with 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:05.210 the Boston Celtics. The big three era. He traded 00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:07.789 for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in one single 00:18:07.789 --> 00:18:10.369 summer. They went from the lottery to the championship 00:18:10.369 --> 00:18:13.509 in one year. So that covers both bases. It's 00:18:13.509 --> 00:18:15.490 a championship team and it's a massive turnaround 00:18:15.490 --> 00:18:18.190 story. That's the sweet spot right there. That's 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:20.700 the formula. But then look at a guy like Bob 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:23.579 Myers with the Golden State Warriors. He won 00:18:23.579 --> 00:18:27.279 in 2015 their first title. But in 2017, 2018, 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:29.180 when they were dominating the league with Kevin 00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:32.019 Durant, the voters looked elsewhere. It's classic 00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:34.859 voter fatigue. It's voter fatigue and it's super 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:39.000 team bias. Once you are on top, your peers stop 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:41.460 being impressed and start being resentful. They 00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:43.799 start voting for the guy in Utah or Portland. 00:18:44.250 --> 00:18:46.470 who is overachieving with less talent. It's so 00:18:46.470 --> 00:18:48.250 funny. We talk about dynasties, but the award 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:50.369 itself doesn't really like dynasties. It doesn't. 00:18:50.369 --> 00:18:52.289 But we have to acknowledge the dynasty builders, 00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:54.910 even if the hardware doesn't always reflect their 00:18:54.910 --> 00:18:57.150 sustained greatness. You mentioned Krauss winning 00:18:57.150 --> 00:19:00.829 twice, 1988, 1996. Right. And Myers won twice, 00:19:00.930 --> 00:19:03.630 2015, 2017. And you have to mention R .C. Buford 00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:05.990 with the Spurs, who won it twice in 2014 and 00:19:05.990 --> 00:19:09.309 2016. The Spurs are the absolute model of consistency. 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:13.240 They are. And Buford winning in 14 and 16 proves 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.640 that the Spurs weren't just about Tim Duncan 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.480 and Greg Popovich. They had a front office that 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:21.599 kept finding incredible talent late in the draft. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:25.920 Cowie Leonard, Manor Ginobili, Tony Parker, to 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.000 keep that machine running. for 20 years. I want 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:30.900 to pivot here a bit because we've been talking 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:33.500 about very American stories, Colangelo, West, 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:37.200 Bird, Ainge. But the NBA has gone global on the 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:40.319 court. You have Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Wemby running 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:42.460 the league. For a long time, though, the front 00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:44.680 office was an old boys club of American coaches 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:46.799 and scouts. It was an impenetrable fortress. 00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.200 If you look at the nationality of every single 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:52.990 winner from 1973 all the way to 2012. It is 100 00:19:52.990 --> 00:19:56.289 % American -born. 40 years. 40 years of American 00:19:56.289 --> 00:19:59.569 exclusivity. Until 2013. The year the glass ceiling 00:19:59.569 --> 00:20:02.069 finally shattered. I saw you, Jerry. The current 00:20:02.069 --> 00:20:03.890 Raptors boss, but back then he was running the 00:20:03.890 --> 00:20:06.329 Denver Nuggets. Correct. Born in England of Nigerian 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:08.309 descent. Didn't play in the NBA. He didn't coach 00:20:08.309 --> 00:20:11.210 in the NCAA. His story is incredible. He started 00:20:11.210 --> 00:20:13.829 as an unpaid scout, traveling around Europe and 00:20:13.829 --> 00:20:16.210 Africa, sleeping on couches, hustling his way 00:20:16.210 --> 00:20:18.750 into gyms just to watch players. He essentially 00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:21.109 willed his way into the league through sheer 00:20:21.109 --> 00:20:24.359 effort. And in 2013 with the Denver Nuggets, 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:27.380 he proved that an outsider perspective was actually 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:30.440 a massive advantage. That Nuggets team he built 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:34.880 was fast, deep, and unconventional. He saw value 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.180 in international players and different styles 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:39.700 of play where the traditional basketball lifers 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:42.160 didn't. So what was the long -term significance 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:46.019 of that win? It opened the floodgates. It completely 00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:48.440 validated the idea that you can find executive 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:51.099 talent anywhere in the world. Now you look around 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:52.940 the league and front offices are incredibly diverse. 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:55.319 You have former agents, cap specialists, data 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:58.019 scientists, international scouts. Ujiri proved 00:20:58.019 --> 00:20:59.599 you don't need to be part of the old coaching 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:02.759 tree or a former player to run a team. And speaking 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:04.759 of new perspectives, I want to fast forward to 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:08.279 the modern era, the 2020s, because looking at 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:11.349 this list of recent winners. Something feels 00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:12.950 different. It's not just where they're from. 00:21:13.009 --> 00:21:15.049 It's like how old they are. It's a definite changing 00:21:15.049 --> 00:21:16.849 of the guard. Yeah. Let's just run down the list 00:21:16.849 --> 00:21:19.309 since 2020. In 2020, you have Lawrence Frank 00:21:19.309 --> 00:21:22.809 with the Clippers. 2021, James Jones bringing 00:21:22.809 --> 00:21:24.690 it back to Phoenix. That's their sixth total 00:21:24.690 --> 00:21:28.089 win. Of course, Phoenix. 2022, Zach Kleiman with 00:21:28.089 --> 00:21:31.329 the Grizzlies. 2023, Monty McNair with the Sacramento 00:21:31.329 --> 00:21:35.150 Kings. 2024, Brad Stevens with the Celtics. Another 00:21:35.150 --> 00:21:38.190 coach -to -exec guy. Exactly. And the most recent 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:42.109 winner in our data? From 2025, Sam Presti finally 00:21:42.109 --> 00:21:44.730 getting his due in Oklahoma City. What jumps 00:21:44.730 --> 00:21:47.369 out at me is the age. Zach Kleiman was, what, 00:21:47.390 --> 00:21:50.029 33 years old when he won? I believe so. That's 00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:52.190 younger than LeBron James was at the time. That's 00:21:52.190 --> 00:21:55.250 insane. It's like the tech CEO era of the NBA 00:21:55.250 --> 00:21:57.630 GM. That is a great way to put it. We've really 00:21:57.630 --> 00:21:59.970 moved away from the 70 -year -old patriarch who 00:21:59.970 --> 00:22:02.950 relies on smell tests and gut feeling. Now it's 00:22:02.950 --> 00:22:05.630 about analytics, asset management, and aggressive 00:22:05.630 --> 00:22:08.349 maneuvering. These young executives treat the 00:22:08.349 --> 00:22:10.470 league like a stock market. They're looking for 00:22:10.470 --> 00:22:12.230 arbitrage opportunities. And notice something 00:22:12.230 --> 00:22:15.779 else. No repeat winners in the 2020s yet. It's 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:18.319 a carousel, a different name every single year. 00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:20.140 So what does that tell you about the state of 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:22.119 the league right now? It tells me the margins 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:26.059 are razor thin. In the 80s and 90s, if you had 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:28.420 a dominant system or a transcendent superstar, 00:22:28.859 --> 00:22:32.839 you could exploit that for a decade. Now, everyone 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:35.259 has the same data. Everyone has the same tracking 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:38.279 software. If you find an inefficiency like the 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:40.900 corner three or undervalued second round picks. 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:43.940 The rest of the league copies you within six 00:22:43.940 --> 00:22:46.680 months. So it's just harder to stay on top. Much, 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:48.559 much harder. The fact that we have a different 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:50.660 winner every year suggests that parity, for the 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:54.180 most part, is real. The dynasty is becoming an 00:22:54.180 --> 00:22:56.720 endangered species because the rules, like the 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.960 salary cap and the draft lottery, are designed 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.519 to tear great teams apart. Which makes the job 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.680 of the architect even harder. You can't just 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:05.680 build it once and let it run. You have to constantly 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:07.880 be renovating. You have to renovate or you get 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.009 demolished. I want to go back to the franchise 00:23:10.009 --> 00:23:12.150 leaderboard for a second. We mentioned Phoenix 00:23:12.150 --> 00:23:14.690 is at the top with six wins. Who's chasing them? 00:23:14.809 --> 00:23:17.589 This is where the data gets quirky and, honestly, 00:23:17.869 --> 00:23:20.690 a bit surprising. Sitting there in second place, 00:23:20.789 --> 00:23:24.109 tied with four wins, is the San Antonio Spurs. 00:23:24.250 --> 00:23:26.410 Okay, that makes total sense. The model franchise 00:23:26.410 --> 00:23:29.049 for 20 years. But tied with them at four wins, 00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:32.230 the Sacramento Kings. Wait, what? The Kings. 00:23:32.410 --> 00:23:34.130 I know. I know. It sounds like a typo to modern 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:37.250 ears. For the last 15, almost 20 years, the Kings 00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:41.450 were the literal definition of dysfunction. Kangs 00:23:41.450 --> 00:23:45.170 was the meme. It was. But the award has a long 00:23:45.170 --> 00:23:47.869 memory. And the Kings have had these pockets 00:23:47.869 --> 00:23:51.289 of absolute brilliance. Joe Axelson won way back 00:23:51.289 --> 00:23:54.230 in 73 when they were the Kansas City Omaha Kings. 00:23:54.309 --> 00:23:56.930 The nomadic Kings. And then Jeff Petrie. We have 00:23:56.930 --> 00:23:59.410 to give Jeff Petrie his flowers. He won twice 00:23:59.410 --> 00:24:02.829 in 1999 and 2001. That was a greatest show on 00:24:02.829 --> 00:24:06.490 court era. Chris Weber, Vlade Divac, P .J. Stojkovic, 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:09.269 Jason Williams. Petrie built one of the most 00:24:09.269 --> 00:24:11.130 aesthetically pleasing, beautiful basketball 00:24:11.130 --> 00:24:14.029 teams in history. They passed the ball. They 00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:16.450 were unselfish. They didn't win the ring, thanks 00:24:16.450 --> 00:24:19.450 to the Lakers and some questionable officiating. 00:24:19.450 --> 00:24:21.470 We will get into that. But they were brilliantly 00:24:21.470 --> 00:24:23.660 constructed. And the Monty McNair winning in 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:26.119 23 brings him up to four total. It really shows 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:29.420 that even cursed franchises have these moments 00:24:29.420 --> 00:24:31.960 of clarity. And it reinforces that turnaround 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:35.759 bias we talked about. The Kings were so bad for 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:37.980 so long that when they finally got good under 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:40.920 McNair, the voters rushed to reward him for it. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:43.559 Absolutely. Who is in the next tier down? The 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:45.670 three -win club. In here, you have the heavyweights 00:24:45.670 --> 00:24:48.809 you'd expect, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, 00:24:48.829 --> 00:24:51.450 Golden State Warriors, but also the Denver Nuggets, 00:24:51.569 --> 00:24:54.250 the LA Clippers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder 00:24:54.250 --> 00:24:57.930 Seattle Supersonics franchise. Ah, right. The 00:24:57.930 --> 00:24:59.869 Sonics history counts for the Thunder. You have 00:24:59.869 --> 00:25:02.049 to remember that. Correct. Franchise records 00:25:02.049 --> 00:25:05.730 travel with the team. So Seattle won twice, Zolli 00:25:05.730 --> 00:25:08.490 Volchok in 83, and the great Bob Whitsitt in 00:25:08.490 --> 00:25:11.539 94. Trader Bob. A legend. He would trade his 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:13.079 own mother for a second -round puck if the math 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:15.220 worked out. He's the one who built the Sean Kemp 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:17.759 -Gary Payton Sonics. An iconic team. And then 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.420 Sam Presti brought the third one home for the 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:22.700 franchise in OKC in 2025. I love that lineage. 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:26.579 From Gary Payton to shy Gilgis Alexander, a legacy 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:29.240 of great guard play. And smart drafting. OK, 00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:31.299 so let's talk about the guys who proved it wasn't 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:33.799 a fluke. We mentioned Colangelo winning four 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:37.200 times. Who are the double dippers, the guys who 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:39.140 won it twice? It's an elite list. We mentioned 00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:41.519 Bob Myers and R .C. Buford, the modern dynasty 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:44.380 builders. But let's shine a light on a few others. 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:47.880 Wayne Embry. The Cavaliers legend. He won twice 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:51.859 with Cleveland in 92 and 98. Wayne Embry is such 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:54.759 a crucial historical figure. He was the first 00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:57.039 African -American general manager in NBA history. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:00.420 He didn't just open the door. He kicked it down 00:26:00.420 --> 00:26:03.400 and won the award twice. That is huge. He built 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:05.940 those tough physical Cavs teams that battled 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:08.339 Michael Jordan every year. Exactly. Then you 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:10.599 have Bob Ferry. He won twice with the Washington 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:13.619 Bullets in 79 and 82. He built the team that 00:26:13.619 --> 00:26:16.599 finally brought a title to D .C. with Wes Unseld 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:19.380 and Elvin Hayes. But there is one guy on this 00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:21.519 list of two -time winners who did something that 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.279 I think is technically the hardest feat of all. 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:27.019 Stan Kasten. Stan Kasten, the only manager in 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:29.000 our detailed records to win the award back to 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.000 back. Back to back. 1986 and 1987 with the Atlanta 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.519 Hawks. Think about the voter fatigue we just 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:38.000 discussed. The GMs hate voting for the same guy 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.400 twice in a row. It feels boring. It feels like 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:42.940 you're just rubber stamping it. Exactly. For 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:46.279 Kasten to win in 86 and then for the voters to 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.450 look at the 87 Hawks and say. Damn it, he did 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:51.369 it again. We have to give it to him. That is 00:26:51.369 --> 00:26:53.369 just incredible. That was the Dominique Wilkins 00:26:53.369 --> 00:26:56.150 era, right? The human highlight film. Cast and 00:26:56.150 --> 00:26:58.329 built a team that was consistently excellent 00:26:58.329 --> 00:27:02.150 in a brutal Eastern conference that had the Celtics, 00:27:02.210 --> 00:27:05.809 Pistons, and Sixers. To win executive of the 00:27:05.809 --> 00:27:08.769 year twice in a row in that shark tank is remarkable. 00:27:09.069 --> 00:27:10.769 Now, I want to get a little personal. We talk 00:27:10.769 --> 00:27:12.849 about fathers and sons on the court all the time. 00:27:12.869 --> 00:27:15.730 The Currys, the Thompsons, the Berries. But there 00:27:15.730 --> 00:27:18.390 is a front office dynasty in our data, too. The 00:27:18.390 --> 00:27:20.450 Colangelos. We know Jerry has his four wins, 00:27:20.549 --> 00:27:23.269 but his son, Brian Colangelo, is on this list, 00:27:23.309 --> 00:27:26.269 too. Twice. That is wild. Are they the only father 00:27:26.269 --> 00:27:29.430 -son duo to win it? The only one. And the narrative 00:27:29.430 --> 00:27:32.180 around Brian is so fascinating. He wins his first 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:34.839 one in 2005 with the Phoenix Suns. Which, let's 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:36.299 be honest, the critics at the time would say, 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:39.420 well, he just took over daddy's team. 100%. Born 00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:42.359 on third base. Yeah. But to his credit, he didn't 00:27:42.359 --> 00:27:44.900 just maintain the status quo. He was the one 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:47.900 who helped pivot that team into the seven seconds 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:50.799 or less era with Steve Nash and coach Mike D 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:53.079 'Antoni. A revolutionary style of basketball. 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:55.640 It was a radical shift. He took a huge risk on 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:57.900 a play style that a lot of old school basketball 00:27:57.900 --> 00:28:00.309 people thought couldn't win. But he didn't stop 00:28:00.309 --> 00:28:02.829 there. He didn't just stay in Phoenix. No. He 00:28:02.829 --> 00:28:05.210 went to the Toronto Raptors, a completely different 00:28:05.210 --> 00:28:06.990 challenge, different country, different market, 00:28:07.109 --> 00:28:09.829 and he won again in 2007. That must have felt 00:28:09.829 --> 00:28:12.089 so good. To win with a team his dad had nothing 00:28:12.089 --> 00:28:14.670 to do with. It cemented his own legacy. He proved 00:28:14.670 --> 00:28:17.349 he wasn't just Jerry's son. He was a top -tier 00:28:17.349 --> 00:28:20.009 executive in his own right. He built a division 00:28:20.009 --> 00:28:23.019 winner in Toronto. And we also see other executives 00:28:23.019 --> 00:28:24.759 moving around and succeeding, which I think is 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:27.319 the ultimate test of pure skill. We mentioned 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:30.079 Bob Bass earlier. Yes, Bob Bass. He won with 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.079 the San Antonio Spurs in 1990, building the David 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:35.119 Robinson era. And then he went to the Charlotte 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:39.059 Hornets and won again in 1997. The Hornets, the 00:28:39.059 --> 00:28:43.880 teal jerseys, Grandma Ma, Zoe, morning. That 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:47.619 90s Hornets team was iconic. And Bass showed 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:51.440 that the skill of roster construction. You can 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:52.880 do it in Texas. You can do it in North Carolina. 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:55.000 It's not about the location. It's about having 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:57.160 the eye for talent. OK, let's bring it all home 00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:59.380 by looking at the ultimate honor, the Hall of 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:02.380 Fame. We mentioned Colangelo and Embry are in 00:29:02.380 --> 00:29:05.220 as contributors. Right. That's the specific category 00:29:05.220 --> 00:29:08.160 for non -players and non -coaches. But it's really 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:10.359 interesting to see how many Hall of Fame players 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:13.650 also won this award. It's like the ultimate cherry 00:29:13.650 --> 00:29:15.970 on top of a career. We talked about Byrne West, 00:29:16.190 --> 00:29:18.329 but let's talk about Elgin Baylor. The Clippers 00:29:18.329 --> 00:29:21.009 GM for what felt like decades. He won the award 00:29:21.009 --> 00:29:24.789 in 2006. People forget this. Elgin Baylor is 00:29:24.789 --> 00:29:26.470 in the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest plays 00:29:26.470 --> 00:29:29.950 ever. The first true high flyer. But he ran the 00:29:29.950 --> 00:29:33.369 Clippers for a long, long time under, let's say, 00:29:33.410 --> 00:29:35.569 very difficult ownership. The Donald Sterling 00:29:35.569 --> 00:29:37.890 era. Not exactly known for spending money to 00:29:37.890 --> 00:29:40.190 win. The tightest purse strings in the league, 00:29:40.289 --> 00:29:44.579 maybe in all of sports. And yet in 2006, Baylor 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:47.420 built a team with Elton Brand and Sam Cassell 00:29:47.420 --> 00:29:50.559 that actually won a playoff series. Getting the 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:52.859 Clippers to the second round in that era, that 00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:55.339 was a legitimate miracle. He deserved the award 00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:57.160 just for dealing with all the headaches. Absolutely. 00:29:57.380 --> 00:29:59.359 Then you have Joe Dumars. Hall of Fame player 00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:02.380 for the Bad Boy Pistons. Two -time champ. And 00:30:02.380 --> 00:30:05.400 then he becomes the architect of the 2004 Championship 00:30:05.400 --> 00:30:08.799 Pistons. He won the executive award in 2003, 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.109 the year before they won it all. Dumars is fascinating 00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:15.009 because he built a championship team without 00:30:15.009 --> 00:30:17.730 a top 50 all -time player. There was no Shaq, 00:30:17.730 --> 00:30:20.930 no Duncan, no Kobe on that roster. It was just 00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:23.769 a perfectly fitted puzzle of very good players. 00:30:24.029 --> 00:30:25.710 Which is arguably the hardest way to build a 00:30:25.710 --> 00:30:28.349 team. He traded for Rip Hamilton. He signed Chauncey 00:30:28.349 --> 00:30:30.930 Billups. He drafted Tayshaun Prince. He traded 00:30:30.930 --> 00:30:33.289 for Rasheed Wallace at the deadline. Every single 00:30:33.289 --> 00:30:35.910 move was a hit. He's the Catron Saint of the 00:30:35.910 --> 00:30:37.970 whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And 00:30:37.970 --> 00:30:40.750 one more contributor worth noting here, Rod Thorne. 00:30:40.809 --> 00:30:43.750 Rod Thorne won in 2002 with the New Jersey Nets. 00:30:44.250 --> 00:30:46.710 That was the Jason Kidd era when he traded for 00:30:46.710 --> 00:30:48.730 Kidd and they immediately went to back -to -back 00:30:48.730 --> 00:30:51.250 finals. Thorne is also elected to the Hall of 00:30:51.250 --> 00:30:53.210 Fame. He's a massive figure in the league office 00:30:53.210 --> 00:30:55.549 as well for years. He's the guy who drafted Michael 00:30:55.549 --> 00:30:57.750 Jordan when he was with the Bulls. Wait, really? 00:30:58.170 --> 00:31:00.410 Yeah, he was the GM before Kraus. That alone 00:31:00.410 --> 00:31:02.690 should get you in the Hall of Fame, just being 00:31:02.690 --> 00:31:05.089 able to say, I picked Jordan. It's a pretty good 00:31:05.089 --> 00:31:06.910 line to have on the resume. So we have looked 00:31:06.910 --> 00:31:09.269 at the history, the mechanics, the legends, the 00:31:09.269 --> 00:31:11.750 families. When you step back and look at this 00:31:11.750 --> 00:31:15.130 50 -plus year data set, from Colangelo all the 00:31:15.130 --> 00:31:18.869 way to Sam Presti, what is the big so what for 00:31:18.869 --> 00:31:22.170 you? Why does this award truly matter? It matters 00:31:22.170 --> 00:31:23.970 because it reveals the cycles of the league. 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:27.029 When you see the Suns winning six times or the 00:31:27.029 --> 00:31:29.630 Spurs winning four times, you see organizations 00:31:29.630 --> 00:31:32.890 that established a culture of winning. It wasn't 00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:35.369 just luck. But then when you look at the recent 00:31:35.369 --> 00:31:38.369 winners, Kleiman, McNair, Stevens, Presti, Hosseini, 00:31:38.470 --> 00:31:41.210 you see how quickly the league changes. It's 00:31:41.210 --> 00:31:44.049 a copycat league. It is. A great player wins 00:31:44.049 --> 00:31:47.829 a game. A great executive wins a decade. But 00:31:47.829 --> 00:31:51.089 in the 2020s, With the voting done by peers, 00:31:51.309 --> 00:31:53.829 the fact that we haven't had a repeat winner 00:31:53.829 --> 00:31:56.630 in this decade yet suggests the league is tighter 00:31:56.630 --> 00:31:59.609 and more competitive than ever. No single system 00:31:59.609 --> 00:32:02.309 dominates anymore. You can't just run the triangle 00:32:02.309 --> 00:32:04.509 offense for 20 years and expect to win. You have 00:32:04.509 --> 00:32:07.109 to constantly adapt or you die. Exactly. The 00:32:07.109 --> 00:32:09.470 competitive edge is just harder to find. The 00:32:09.470 --> 00:32:11.970 information gap is closed. Every team knows who 00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:14.519 the good players are in Europe. Every team has 00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:17.019 the tracking data. So to win this award now, 00:32:17.220 --> 00:32:20.079 you have to be bolder, smarter, and maybe a little 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:22.720 bit luckier than ever before. That is a provocative 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:25.180 thought to end on. We are in the era of hyper 00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:27.579 competitiveness, not just on the court, but in 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:29.880 the boardroom, the war room. Absolutely. The 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:32.119 next godfather, like Colangelo, a guy who wins 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:34.700 four times, he might not exist because the game 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:36.420 moves too fast now. Well, next time you see a 00:32:36.420 --> 00:32:38.279 trade notification pop up on your phone or you 00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:40.140 see a team draft a guy from a league you've never 00:32:40.140 --> 00:32:42.500 heard of, just remember, there's an architect 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:45.039 behind it, sweating out the details, trying to 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:47.460 win that vote from their peers. And trying to 00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:49.619 build a legacy that lasts a little bit longer 00:32:49.619 --> 00:32:52.420 than a shoe contract. Thanks for diving in with 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:54.000 us. It's been a pleasure exploring the front 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:56.019 office. Always a pleasure. We'll catch you on 00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:57.420 the next Deep Dive. Take care.