Lon Babby

Last updated

Lon Scott Babby (born February 21, 1951) is a lawyer and NBA player agent who was named the Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations on Tuesday July 20, 2010. [1] However, as of June 10, 2015, Babby has been moved to the team's senior adviser instead, [2] and he stepped down from his position altogether a year later. [3]

Contents

Career

After graduating from Valley Stream South High School, Babby earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Lehigh University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1976. [4] Early in his career, Babby represented John Hinckley, Jr., the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. His son is Ken Babby, owner of two minor league baseball teams.

He is best known as an NBA player agent, whose clients included Tim Duncan, Hedo Türkoğlu and Ray Allen, as well as former Suns player Grant Hill. Additionally, he has also represented Major League Baseball clients, and has worked as an attorney for the NFL's Washington Redskins (1977–80) and MLB's Baltimore Orioles (1979–94). [5] He is also the father of businessman Ken Babby, who is the current owner of the Akron RubberDucks and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp minor league baseball teams.

On July 20, 2010, Babby was named the Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations under team owner Robert Sarver after Steve Kerr left his role as general manager in June 2010 and Sarver made the lambasted decision to make sign-and-trades to acquire Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick, and Hedo Türkoğlu as the intended replacements for star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire. Despite being named the President of Basketball Operations, he still had to respond to the actual general manager of the team throughout his tenure, which originally was Lance Blanks before Ryan McDonough took over in 2013. However, he was the key speaker for the franchise during press conferences early on in his tenure despite being second-in-command to Blanks. Fans of the franchise took notice to his nasally sounding voice during that period of time. Near the end of his tenure with the Suns, Babby was demoted to being a senior advisor for the franchise on June 10, 2015 due to McDonough's expanding coverage within the franchise. Babby ultimately stepped down from his position with the team altogether on May 5, 2016.

Babby has since worked with the Positive Coaching Alliance under their local board members [6] [7] as well as the Be A Leader Foundation in their board of directors [8] [9] and the Arizona Community Foundation [10] [11] after stepping down from the Suns. He has also been inducted into the George Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to the world of sports before his time with the Suns. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Suns</span> National Basketball Association team in Phoenix, Arizona

The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in their division not to be based in California, and play their home games at the Footprint Center. The Suns are one of four major league sports teams based in the Phoenix area, but are the only one to bill themselves as representing the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Colangelo</span> American basketball player, coach, executive

Jerry Colangelo is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League, and the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. He was also instrumental in the relocation of the original Winnipeg Jets team in the NHL to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Coyotes. In 2014, Grand Canyon University renamed its Christian based school of business after Jerry Colangelo, replacing Ken Blanchard's namesake. From December 2015 to April 2016, Colangelo served as Chairman of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers, before serving as a special advisor to the team until December 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Richardson</span> American basketball player

Jason Anthoney Richardson is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft after playing college basketball for Michigan State University. He won the NBA Dunk Contest in both 2002 and 2003, becoming the second player, after Michael Jordan, to win the competition back-to-back. Richardson has also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Richardson is often remembered for his proficiency in dunking and shooting. Since 2021, Richardson has been an active player for Tri-State of the BIG3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedo Türkoğlu</span> Turkish basketball player (born 1979)

Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu is a Turkish basketball executive and former professional player. A 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) forward, Türkoğlu played for six teams in his 15-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2007–08 NBA season and played in the NBA Finals for the Magic in 2009. He also played for Turkey's national team in international competition. Türkoğlu has served as president of the Turkish Basketball Federation since October 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Colangelo</span> American basketball executive

Bryan Paul Colangelo is an American basketball executive who was the former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also served as president of basketball operations for Philadelphia and Toronto. He is the son of Phoenix sports mogul Jerry Colangelo. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and applied economics. He was the 2005 and 2007 recipient of the NBA Executive of the Year Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Sarver</span> American businessman (born 1961)

Robert Gary Sarver is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, the current owner of the RCD Mallorca La Liga Spanish football team, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA team and Phoenix Mercury WNBA team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007–08 Phoenix Suns season</span> NBA professional basketball team season

The 2007–08 Phoenix Suns season was their 40th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season was seen as the end of the "Seven Seconds or Less" era, after four-time All-Star Shawn Marion was traded midseason to the Miami Heat for big man Shaquille O'Neal. The Suns failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since re-signing Steve Nash in 2004, losing to the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in five games in the First Round, which led to the departure of head coach Mike D'Antoni. The Suns had the second best team offensive rating in the NBA.

Andy Kohlberg is an American former professional tennis player who serves as president of Spanish football club Mallorca.

The 2010–11 Phoenix Suns season was the 43rd season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). For the first time in eight seasons, the Suns were without the play of power forward Amar'e Stoudemire, a 5-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year who joined the New York Knicks in the summer. The Suns traded Jason Richardson on December 18, 2010 as part of a trade that brought Vince Carter to the Suns. On February 24, 2011, the Suns traded Goran Dragić and the draft pick they got earlier from Orlando in exchange for Aaron Brooks. Alvin Gentry was head coach and the Suns played their home games at US Airways Center.

The 2011–12 Orlando Magic season was the 23rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team finished in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 37–29 record in a regular season shortened by the lockout and an offseason where trade rumours that included starting center Dwight Howard abounded. After the Magic's playoff loss against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs in five games, the Orlando franchise parted ways with head coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith. The Amway Center, the Magic's home court, was the venue of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.

The 2000–01 NBA season was the Kings' 52nd season in the National Basketball Association, and 16th season in Sacramento. During the off-season, the Kings acquired shooting guard Doug Christie from the Toronto Raptors, and signed free agent Bobby Jackson. After two straight playoff seasons, the Kings enjoyed another successful season by winning 14 of their first 18 games, on their way to a 27–10 start as of January 20, and held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break. The Kings would make it into the NBA's elite status by challenging the Pacific Division all season, falling just one game short with a solid 55–27 record. The team also posted three five-game winning streaks, which was their longest winning streak during the season.

Ryan Michael McDonough is the former general manager of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association.

Jim Tanner is a sports and entertainment agent certified by both the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA). Tanner is the founder and President of Tandem Sports + Entertainment, with clients including Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, Grant Hill, Tamika Catchings, Jeremy Lin, Thaddeus Young, Marvin Williams, and John Henson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jahm Najafi</span> Iranian-American businessman

Jahm Najafi is an Iranian-American billionaire businessman. He runs Najafi Companies, a Phoenix-based private-equity firm, and is partial owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA team.

Ken Babby is an American businessperson. He is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Fast Forward Sports Group. Previously, Babby served as Chief Revenue Officer/ Vice President and General Manager, Digital for The Washington Post. Presently, he is the Owner of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp & Akron RubberDucks baseball teams.

The 2018–19 Phoenix Suns season was the 51st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 26th season at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. They finished with 19 wins to 63 losses, the franchise's worst regular season record since the inaugural season 1968–69.

The 2021–22 Phoenix Suns season was their 54th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 29th season at the currently named Footprint Center, their first full season under that name after taking over the naming rights to the previously named Phoenix Suns Arena on July 16, 2021, during the 2021 NBA Finals.

The 2022–23 Phoenix Suns season is their 55th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 30th season at the Footprint Center. It is also the last season under Robert Sarver's ownership group, as he was suspended from league-wide activities on September 13, 2022 due to an independent investigation on Sarver that began the season prior revealing ugly behaviors he had throughout his tenure as franchise owner of the Suns. He later announced in that same month that minority team owner and vice chairman of the Suns, Sam Garvin, would take over the majority of team duties for the rest of this season until new ownership bought out Sarver as the new majority team owners going forward. Sarver eventually accepted a deal to sell his ownership rights to both the Suns and Phoenix Mercury to an ownership group led by United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia and his older brother Justin Ishbia for an asking price of $4 billion on December 20, 2022, with the NBA approving of the new ownership on February 6, 2023 and an official announcement confirming the deal coming a day later on February 7, 2023. During that same period, forward Jae Crowder agreed to sit out the rest of the season with the Suns until a potential trade was announced.

Sam Scott Garvin is the CEO of the Garvin Promotion Group and former alternate and incumbent governor of the Phoenix Suns from September 15, 2022 until February 7, 2023, replacing Robert Sarver for what was intended to be the entire 2022-23 NBA season until the sale of the Suns to Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia on February 7, 2023 became official. However, he is still currently involved with the Phoenix Suns organization in some capacity.

References

  1. ↑ "SUNS: Babby Named Suns President of Basketball Operations". Nba.com. 2010-07-20. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  2. ↑ "Suns' Lon Babby moves to senior adviser's role". 2015-06-10. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02.
  3. ↑ "Lon Babby ends tenure with Phoenix Suns". 2016-05-05.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Paula Hubbs. "Attorney of the Month: Lon Babby," Attorney At Law Magazine (Greater Phoenix Edition), March 2011.
  5. ↑ Young, Bob (2010-07-20). "Phoenix Suns introduce Lon Babby as executive". Azcentral.com. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  6. ↑ PCA Team
  7. ↑ Babby, Lon - PCA
  8. ↑ Board of Directors - Be A Leader
  9. ↑ Lon Babby - Be A Leader
  10. ↑ Board - Arizona Community Foundation
  11. ↑ Lon Babby - Arizona Community Foundation
  12. ↑ Lon Babby | Bender JCC
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.