The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league based in the United States. It is composed of 12 teams. The league was founded on April 24,1996,as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA),and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September,with the All-Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
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.
David Joel Stern was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of the world's most popular sports during the 1990s and 2000s. He is credited with developing and broadening the NBA's audience,especially internationally by setting up training camps,playing exhibition games,and recruiting more international players. In addition,with Stern's guidance the NBA opened 12 offices in cities outside the United States,and broadcast to over 200 territories in over 40 languages. Stern also helped found the Women's National Basketball Association and the NBA G League,the NBA's development league. Under Stern,the NBA launched their digital presence with NBA.com,NBA TV,and NBA League Pass. He also established the NBA's social responsibility program,NBA Cares.
Glen Allen Taylor is an American billionaire business magnate and politician from Minnesota. Taylor made his fortune as the founder and owner of Minnesota-based Taylor Corporation,one of the largest graphic communication companies in the United States.
Jerry Michael Reinsdorf is an American sports executive and businessman who is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White Sox and Bulls for nearly 40 years. As of May 2024,his net worth was estimated at US$2.2 billion.
Valerie B. Ackerman is an American sports executive,former lawyer,and former basketball player. She is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA),serving from 1996 to 2005. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
David W. Checketts is an American businessman and sports executive. Checketts has served in c-suite roles or been an owner of the Utah Jazz,New York Knicks,New York Rangers,New York Liberty,Madison Square Garden (MSG),Legends Hospitality,and the St. Louis Blues. He also advised on Tom Gores' purchase of the Detroit Pistons and of Joe Tsai's purchase of the Brooklyn Nets.
Arn Herschel Tellem is an American sports executive who is the vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). From 1981 to 2015,he was a sports agent best known for his representation of basketball and baseball players. Tellem was vice chairman of the Wasserman Media Group,a global sport and entertainment marketing agency headed by Casey Wasserman. From 2009 to 2010,he wrote a semi-weekly sports column for The Huffington Post. He has also written for Sports Illustrated,the op-ed page of The New York Times,Grantland, Detroit Free Press,The Hollywood Reporter,The Japan Times and The Detroit News.
Brian Bedol is an American television executive,entrepreneur,and founder of the sports television channels Classic Sports Network and College Sports Television. Bedol owned CSN from 1995 to 1997 and CSTV from 2003 to 2006.
Adam Silver is an American lawyer and sports executive who serves as the fifth and current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He joined the NBA in 1992 and has held various positions within the league,becoming chief operating officer and deputy commissioner under his predecessor and mentor David Stern in 2006. When Stern retired in 2014,Silver was named commissioner.
Randy Lewis Levine is an American attorney,the current president of the New York Yankees baseball club and a member of the Board of Directors of A.C. Milan S.p.A.
Andrew Bruce Dolich is an American sports executive,and currently operates a sports consultancy,Dolich &Associates,in Los Altos,California. Dolich has more than five decades of experience in the professional sports industry,including executive positions in the NFL,NBA,NHL and MLB.
Dennis M. Mannion is currently CEO and President of House of 7,LLC,a sports advisory company with professional and amateur sports clients. Mannion was CEO and President of Palace Sports and Entertainment where he oversaw Business Operations of the Detroit Pistons,The Palace of Auburn Hills,DTE Energy Music Theatre,Meadow Brook Amphitheatre,and Freedom Hill Amphitheatre. He has worked in all four Major League sports:MLB,NHL,NBA,and NFL.
The commissioner of the NBA is the chief executive of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The current commissioner is Adam Silver,who succeeded David Stern on February 1,2014.
Joseph Steven Lacob is an American business executive who was a partner at Kleiner Perkins and is the majority owner of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai(Chinese:蔡崇信;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Chhòa Chông-sìn;born January 1964) is a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire business magnate,lawyer,and philanthropist. He is a cofounder and chairman of the Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba Group and owns the Brooklyn Nets of the American National Basketball Association (NBA),the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA),the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League,and has interests in several other professional sports franchises. Tsai's net worth is estimated to be US$8.1 billion.
Gary R. Stevenson is an American sports marketing executive. A graduate of Duke University and George Washington University,he helped start The Golf Channel,developed the business plan for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA),and launched Pac-12 Networks. He built a consulting firm,OnSport,that crafted the Wachovia Championship and put together the NASCAR Nationwide Series. After 10 years,he sold OnSport to Wasserman Media Group for a reported $25 million. Since 2013,he has been president and managing director of MLS Business Ventures,a division of Major League Soccer. Stevenson has also served as an independent director for Kilroy Realty Corporation,a publicly traded real estate investment trust,since 2014.
Keith Charles Frederick Weed is Unilever's former CMCO,a role he held from 2010 to 2019. In 2020,Weed was appointed President and Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society. In addition to this,he currently holds various trustee and non-executive director roles.
Dan MacKenzie is a Canadian sports administrator and marketing executive. He has served as president of the Canadian Hockey League since September 2019. He served as the vice-president and managing director of National Basketball Association (NBA) Canada from 2014 to 2019,and previously worked for The Sports Network. During his tenure with NBA Canada,he implemented marketing strategies targeted to younger demographics to grow the game in Canada,and he increased the NBA presence using television,advertising,social media and community involvement. He oversaw events which included managing the development NBA Global Games in Europe,3x3 basketball tournaments in Canada,the NBA Canada Series,and the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
Brett Yormark is the fifth and current commissioner of the Big 12 Conference,a position he has held since August 1,2022. Yormark has a diverse professional background in sports and entertainment,having held top positions at Katz Sports,NASCAR,Palace Sports &Entertainment,Brooklyn Sports &Entertainment,and NBA. He was formerly the chief executive officer of Roc Nation. Prior to that,he served as chief executive officer of Brooklyn Sports &Entertainment,where he oversaw the business operations of the Brooklyn Nets organization,the Barclays Center,the New York Islanders,New York Liberty,Nassau Coliseum,and the Nets' minor team Long Island Nets.
