Russ Granik

A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law, and a diehard fan of basketball his entire life, Russell T. Granik began a 30-year career in the NBA league office in 1976. The operation was small in those days, but there was no shortage of opportunity. Granik was joined at the NBA by a team that included a young David Stern, and the two men – Stern and Granik – formed a relationship that would influence basketball around the world for the next three decades. During his tenure, Granik was involved in every major negotiation including television contracts, collective bargaining, and league expansion. He was always a voice of reason, mastering the art of bringing together opposing sides on key issues. The NBA saw tremendous growth at home, and when the game was poised to take on the burgeoning global market, Granik led the charge serving as the Vice-President, and later President, of USA Basketball overseeing the inclusion of the Dream Team of NBA players in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.