Neil Olshey

Last updated
Neil Olshey
Personal information
Born (1965-01-10) January 10, 1965 (age 59)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Career information
High school Xavier (New York City)
College Le Moyne College

Neil Olshey (born January 10, 1965) is an American basketball executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Prior to that, he was general manager and vice president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Contents

Early life and education

Olshey is a graduate of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York where he played on the D3 lacrosse team. Neil grew up in Flushing, Queens, but attended Xavier High School in Manhattan. [1] [2] [3]

Career

Olshey originally sought to become a professional actor following his graduation from college, and moved to New York City to pursue this career. He appeared in television commercials and print advertisements, and had roles on All My Children , One Life to Live , and Loving before moving to Los Angeles. [4]

Olshey later served as director of player development for SFX Sports Group, Inc., where he created, organized and conducted NBA pre-draft training camps that produced 15 lottery picks, 25 first-round selections and 57 current NBA players. [4] He was also an assistant coach at Artesia High School in Lakewood, California, where he coached future UCLA and NBA player Jason Kapono.

Prior to the start of the 2003–04 season, he joined the Los Angeles Clippers as director of player personnel and became an assistant coach at the beginning of the 2004–05 season. Prior to the start of the 2008–09 season, Olshey was elevated to the position of assistant general manager. [5] He was named general manager on March 9, 2010, upon the firing of Mike Dunleavy Sr. [6] In June 2012, he became the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers. [7]

He appeared as himself on the IFC series Portlandia in episode 7 "Trail Blazers" of season 4. [8]

After a month-long investigation into allegations of the Trail Blazers organization being a toxic environment created by Olshey, the team fired him on December 3, 2021. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Clippers</span> National Basketball Association team in Inglewood, California

The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The team will play at Intuit Dome beginning with the 2024–25 NBA season. Previously, the Clippers recently played their home games at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles from 1999 to 2024, which they had shared with NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Trail Blazers</span> National Basketball Association team in Portland, Oregon

The Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to the Moda Center in 1995. The franchise entered the league as an expansion team in 1970, and has enjoyed a strong following: from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American major professional sports at the time, and which has only since been surpassed by the Boston Red Sox and the Dallas Mavericks. The Trail Blazers are the only NBA team based in the Pacific Northwest, after the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis and became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001 and the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.

Michael Joseph Dunleavy Sr. is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former general manager of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. He was most recently the head coach of the Tulane University men's basketball team. Dunleavy is the father of former professional basketball player Mike Dunleavy Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Stotts</span> American basketball coach and former player

Terry Linn Stotts is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is the top assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2012 to 2021 before most recently spending an offseason as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Shaw (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Brian Keith Shaw is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played both guard positions, but was used primarily at point guard in his 14 seasons in the NBA. He won three NBA championships playing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Twardzik</span> American basketball player

David John Twardzik is an American former professional basketball player. He was a point guard in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for being a key starting guard on the Portland Trail Blazers team that won the 1977 NBA Finals.

Brian Wade Grant is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious rebounding and blue-collar defense. During his career, he played with the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Schuler</span> American basketball coach (1940–2022)

Michael Harold Schuler was an American basketball coach in both college and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers from 1986 to 1992 and compiled a win–loss record of 179–159. He won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 1987, becoming the second rookie coach to be conferred the honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Lynam</span> American basketball coach

James Francis Lynam is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached at the college level for Fairfield University from 1968 to 1970, American University from 1973 to 1978, and St. Joseph's University from 1978 to 1981. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), Lynam coached the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers from 1983 to 1985, the Philadelphia 76ers from 1987 to 1992, and the Washington Bullets from 1995 to 1997. Lynam compiled a 158–118 record at the college level, and 328–392 in the NBA. He was also Philadelphia's general manager from 1992 to 1994.

David Bruce Wohl is an American former basketball player and coach, and the former general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers. A 6'2" guard who grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey and played collegiately at the University of Pennsylvania, Wohl was selected in the 3rd round of the 1971 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played for six different teams over a seven-year career, including the 76ers, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Buffalo Braves, the Houston Rockets and the New York/New Jersey Nets. He was traded from the 76ers to the Trail Blazers for Dale Schlueter on October 2, 1972.

Sidney Wicks is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. Wicks was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1971 NBA draft with the second overall pick. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and was a four-time NBA All-Star with the Trail Blazers. He also played professionally for the Boston Celtics and San Diego Clippers, finishing his career after one season in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolas Batum</span> French basketball player (born 1988)

Nicolas Batum is a French professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a member of the French national team and earned a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Rogers (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Roy Lee Rogers Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Alabama and was a first-round selection of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1996 NBA draft. Rogers played four seasons in the NBA with the Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets. He also played in Russia, Italy and Poland.

The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Trail Blazers are currently celebrating their 50th NBA season. The franchise owner is Jody Allen, who assumed ownership upon the death of her brother Microsoft co-founder and Vulcan Inc. chairman Paul Allen, in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Brown (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Anthony William Brown is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He formerly played in the NBA and internationally after a collegiate career with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Brown served as the interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in 2016.

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 23rd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was replaced by his former assistant K. C. Jones, and went on to occupy the desk of vice-president of Basketball Operations for Seattle, resigning months later to accept a job as General Manager of the Denver Nuggets. The Draft Lottery gave the SuperSonics the No. 2 pick, which was used to select future All-Star point guard Gary Payton out of Oregon State in the 1990 NBA draft.

Jim Eyen is a scout for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Hughes (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1952)

Kim Galen Hughes is an American former basketball player and coach. He played professional basketball in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York / New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks between 1975 and 1981. Hughes served as the interim head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers for 33 games in 2010. On July 4, 2015, he was fired from his position as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 28th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Blazers signed free agents Brian Grant, and Vincent Askew, and hired former Milwaukee Bucks General Manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy as their new coach. After losing their season opener, the Blazers went on a five-game winning streak, which ended with a 140–139 quadruple overtime home loss to the Phoenix Suns on November 14, 1997. The Blazers continued to play above .500 for the remainder of the season, holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break.

References

  1. ↑ Kevin Arnovitz (May 11, 2012). "The man behind Clippers' rise". ESPN . Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  2. ↑ Mark Heisler (February 4, 2012). "Clippers Give N.B.A. a Jolt That Just Might Endure". The New York Times . Retrieved April 24, 2015. Another Clipper from left field, Olshey, 47, grew up in Flushing, Queens, and attended Xavier High School, 19 blocks from Madison Square Garden.
  3. ↑ Jason Quick (June 4, 2012). "Trail Blazers hire Neil Olshey as general manager after Olshey shuns Clippers". The Oregonian . Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Olshey's Unconventional Journey" . Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  5. ↑ "Clippers, general manager Dunleavy part ways". NBA.com . Archived from the original on 2010-03-21. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  6. ↑ Dillman, Lisa (2010-03-10). "Clippers' Neil Olshey worked his way up from bit parts to leading role". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  7. ↑ trailblazers (n.d.). "Neil Olshey Named Trail Blazers General Manager". Portland Trail Blazers. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012. The Portland Trail Blazers have named Neil Olshey as a lund the team's general manager, Team President Larry Miller announced today.
  8. ↑ Christine N. Ziemba (April 10, 2014). "Portlandia Review: "Trail Blazers"". Paste . Retrieved April 23, 2015. Expectations were raised even further with the casting of the Portland Trail Blazers' basketball team and general manager Neil Olshey to guest star opposite the dynamic duo.
  9. ↑ "Statement From The Portland Trail Blazers". NBA.com. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Portland Trail Blazers fire GM, president of basketball operations Neil Olshey". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
Preceded by
Chad Buchanan (interim)
 Portland Trail Blazers general manager
2012–2021		Succeeded by
Joe Cronin (interim)
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.