Sports Business Classroom is excited to announce that Portland Trailblazers General Manager Neil Olshey will be a featured speaker for the 2020 Business of Basketball Virtual Conference taking place August 10-14, 2020!

Designed for those looking to break into the sports business world, the immersive, five-day Business of Basketball Virtual Conference provides registrants the opportunity to learn from top executives while performing real work in multiple in-demand disciplines, including team video, scouting, analytics, social media, digital branding, broadcasting, and the league salary cap.

Olshey will lead an all-star lineup of sports business executives that will be teaching and joining the Sports Business Classroom Virtual Conference, including Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, Washington Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard, Play-by-Play Commentator NBA on ESPN & ABC Mike Breen, Chief Creative Officer at Momentum Worldwide Omid Farhang, WNBA Champion Renee Montgomery, Bleacher Report Staff Writer Mirin Fader, and the Vegas Summer League co-founders Warren LeGarie and Albert Hall.

+ Click Here to View a Full List of Committed Speakers

Past speakers have included NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, TNT’s David Aldridge, Houston Rockets Head Coach Mike D’Antoni, NFL Network’s Andrea Kremer, Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle, the cast of NBATV’s The Starters, ESPN’s Mark Jones, Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and NBA Executive VP of Basketball Operations Kiki Vandeweghe, just to name a few.

 

SBC SPEAKER BIO: NEIL OLSHEY 

Promoted to President of Basketball Operations in 2015, Neil Olshey was named the 10th General Manager in franchise history on June 4, 2012, and completed his seventh season at the helm in 2018-19. As President of Basketball Operations, Olshey leads the organization’s Basketball Operations department, overseeing talent evaluation, player personnel decisions, contract negotiations and salary cap management.

Less than a month after joining the Trail Blazers, Olshey drafted Damian Lillard, the fourth unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year in league history. He then named veteran coach Terry Stotts head coach of the Trail Blazers on August 7, 2012.

Coming off their first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2000, the Trail Blazers have made the postseason in six consecutive seasons under Olshey, who signed franchise cornerstones Lillard and CJ McCollum to multi-year contract extensions in the summer of 2019. In addition to securing Lillard and McCollum, Olshey orchestrated offseason trades for veterans Kent Bazemore and Hassan Whiteside. He also re-signed Rodney Hood, who was acquired in a February 2019 midseason trade, while signing free agents Mario Hezonja, Anthony Tolliver and two-time NBA Champion Pau Gasol.

In 2017-18, the Trail Blazers finished third in the Western Conference with a 49-33 record, a Northwest Division title and a fifth consecutive trip to the postseason with the NBA’s second-youngest roster.

After making the playoffs with the league’s youngest roster in 2016-17, Olshey executed a draft day trade on June 22, 2017 to acquire Zach Collins (10th overall pick).

Olshey made the trade deadline move during the 2016-17 season to acquire center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first round draft pick from Denver in exchange for Mason Plumlee and cash considerations on February 13. After making the move, Portland went 14-6 with Nurkic in the lineup and made its fourth consecutive playoff appearance for the first time since 2000-03.

The Trail Blazers advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in 2015-16 after defeating the LA Clippers in the first round, despite not returning four of five starters from the previous year and possessing the third-youngest roster in the league. Portland lost the highest percentage of starters from the previous season among all teams that have ever advanced to the second round, while becoming the first Trail Blazers team to move onto the semifinals twice in three years since 1998-2000. It was the third straight trip to the playoffs under the direction of Olshey, who was runner-up for the 2015-16 NBA Executive of the Year Award. McCollum, whom Olshey drafted with the 10th overall pick in 2014, won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award that season.

Division champions for the first time since 1998-99 in 2014-15, the Trail Blazers put together consecutive 50-win seasons for just the fifth time in franchise history from 2013-14 to 2014-15.

Olshey finished third in 2013-14 NBA Executive of the Year voting after the Trail Blazers posted a 54-28 record, marking the largest improvement in franchise history and the sixth-best record all-time. Portland won its first playoff series in 14 seasons, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games, which set up a Western Conference Semifinal matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. The postseason berth was the team’s first since 2010-11.

Olshey came to Portland from the Clippers, where he served as the team’s Vice President of Basketball Operations for two seasons. Placing third in votes for the 2011-12 NBA Executive of the Year Award, Olshey was responsible for all facets of basketball operations and player personnel moves while with the Clippers.

Under Olshey’s direction, the Clippers transitioned into a playoff team in 2011-12 after he assembled one of the deepest rosters in the NBA prior to the start of the season. During a six-day span, Olshey added Chris Paul, Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups while re-signing DeAndre Jordan to a team that already featured Blake Griffin, Mo Williams and Eric Bledsoe. The Chris Paul trade led to Olshey receiving the “Best Sports Transaction of the Year” award at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

Olshey began his NBA career with the Clippers as Director of Player Development prior to the start of the 2003-04 season, and served as an assistant coach during the 2004-05 campaign before holding the title of Director of Player Personnel from 2005-08. Olshey was promoted to the role of Assistant General Manager prior to the start of the 2008-09 season.

Prior to joining the Clippers, Olshey was the Director of Player Development for SFX Sports Group, Inc. where he created, organized and conducted predraft and offseason training camps for future and current NBA players. The camps produced 15 lottery picks, 25 first round selections and 57 NBA players overall. Participants in Olshey’s offseason skills development clinics include more than 85 current and former NBA players including numerous All-Stars and All-NBA selections. He has also served as a Head Coach/Clinician at the Reebok/Adidas ABCD Camp, the Roundball Classic and numerous NCAA basketball camps throughout the country.

A 1987 graduate of Le Moyne College, Olshey was a recipient of the Outstanding Senior Athlete Award for his efforts on the lacrosse field and was inducted into the Le Moyne College Hall of Fame in 2018. He is married to Emmy-nominated television producer Leslie Radakovich, and they have two sons, Connor and James.

ABOUT SPORTS BUSINESS CLASSROOM

Sports Business Classroom is dedicated to creating immersive educational and training experiences designed by leading industry professionals to develop the sports business stars of tomorrow.

Sports Business Classroom creates one-of-a-kind learning opportunities for those interested in the business of basketball and jobs in sports. Our goal with every program we produce is to combine the best of all worlds into a single package – great academics, hands-on experience, immersion into the subject matter and interaction with some of the best minds working in and around the NBA.