Sports Business Classroom is excited to announce that Detroit Pistons Senior Advisor Ed Stefanski 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.

Stefanski will join 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: ED STEFANSKI

Ed Stefanski was named senior advisor to owner Tom Gores on May 24, 2018. In his current role, he oversees all basketball operations of the Detroit Pistons.

With Stefanski at the helm, the Pistons returned to the NBA Playoffs in 2019 for the first time since 2016 after going 41-41. The 41 wins marked the second-most by the team in the previous 10 seasons while 26 home wins tied for the most in the last decade as well.

A seasoned executive, Stefanski brings two-plus decades of NBA front office experience to the club. Prior to joining the Pistons, Stefanski spent four years with the Memphis Grizzlies as an executive vice president. Previously, Stefanski held management positions with the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets. During Stefanski’s tenure in Memphis, the Grizzlies made three postseason appearances, including a trip to the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals.

Immediately after his hiring, Stefanski went to work in reshaping the Pistons’ roster by drafting Bruce Brown from the University of Miami with the 42nd overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He then acquired Kyri Thomas (drafted 38th overall by Philadelphia in the 2018 NBA Draft from Creighton University) on draft night in exchange for two future sec- ond-round picks and added veteran leadership to the roster by signing free agents Zaza Pachulia and Jose Calderon in July. Stefanski and his team continued to retool the roster at the 2019 NBA trade deadline by acquiring Thon Maker from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Stanley Johnson in a three-team trade which saw Johnson go to New Orleans and Nikola Mirotic to the Bucks. Detroit then acquired rookie swingman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk from the L.A. Lakers, along with a future second-round pick, for guard Reggie Bullock. When veteran guard Wayne Ellington became available after being bought out by the Phoenix Suns, Stefanski success- fully signed the free-agent shooting specialist to bolster the team’s 3-point shooting. That move helped the Pistons reach a team-record in 3-pointers made (993) and attempted (2,854) and an eventual playoff appearance.

Stefanski’ kept active during the 2019 offseason by first drafting Sekou Doumbouya from France with the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He then completed a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks acquiring forward Tony Snell and the draft rights to Kevin Porter Jr. in exchange for Jon Leuer. Stefanski continued the roster’s rebuild in free agency by signing former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, Markieff Morris, Tim Frazier, Christian Wood and seven-time NBA All-Star Joe Johnson, fresh off leading his team to a Big3 championship and being named MVP of the league.

Stefanski served two seasons (2011-13) as executive vice president of basketball operations with the Raptors. With Stefanski in the front office, Toronto began the process of reshaping the franchise around the trade acquisition of eventual NBA All-Star Kyle Lowry and 2012 draft pick Jonas Valanciunas.

Prior to his time in Toronto, Stefanski spent four seasons (2007-11) as president and general manager of the 76ers, where he helped return the franchise to the postseason through re-signing key players such as Andre Iguodala, adding talent through the draft lottery and shrewd drafting of mid-first round picks in the NBA Draft. Selections such as Marreese Speights (16th overall in 2008), Jrue Holiday (17th overall in 2009), consensus NCAA Player of the Year Evan Turner (2nd in 2010) and Nikola Vucevic (16th in 2011) helped guide the 76ers to the NBA Playoffs three times during Stefanski’s tenure. Before going to Philadelphia, Stefanski

served nine seasons (1998-2007) with the Nets where he oversaw the team’s basketball operations and was heavily involved in the team’s roster development and player personnel matters. He was promoted to gen- eral manager in 2004 following a one-year term as senior vice president of basketball operations and four seasons as director of scouting.

Stefanski was instrumental in the Nets’ back-to-back Eastern Conference Championship teams in 2002 and 2003. He played a significant role in drafting Kenyon Martin with the top overall selection in the 2000 NBA Draft and a 2001 draft-night deal in which the Nets acquired Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong from Houston. Three of those players (Martin, Jefferson and Collins) developed into starters for the Nets’ 2002-03 Eastern Conference Championship squad. In 2004, Stefanski acquired multiple All-Star Vince Carter from Toronto. Carter and Jefferson rank third and fourth, respectively, among Nets career leaders for points scored.

A 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business), Stefanski played three seasons for Penn, where he was coached by Hall of Famer and Pistons great Chuck Daly. He was a member of two Ivy League Champions (1974 and 1975) and helped the Quakers reach the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons. Stefanski was drafted by Philadelphia in the 10th round of the 1976 NBA Draft.

While in college, Stefanski founded and secured funding for the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Inner City Basketball League, which provided a structured basketball environment for hundreds of boys and girls living under the Housing Authority. The Housing Authority later celebrated his efforts with a special recognition award, commending his contributions to the youth of Philadelphia. Stefanski also enjoyed a 20-year run (1979-98) as a color analyst for Big Five basketball and ESPN’s Atlantic 10 Basketball coverage.

Stefanski and his wife, Karen, have four children: Edward Jr., Kevin, Matthew and David.

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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.