ANDY ELISBURG

Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager

Andy Elisburg enters his first season as Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager where he continues to assist CEO Nick Arison and President Pat Riley in the management of all aspects of the HEAT’s basketball organization including salary cap administration, talent acquisition, league compliance and the day-to-day business of basketball operations.  

He is a HEAT original, joining the franchise in its inaugural 1988 season. For the past 28 years, Elisburg has been working in basketball operations, and prior to his current post, he served 10 years as Senior Vice President/General Manager, playing an integral role in salary cap planning and basketball operations management, while overseeing the day-to-day operations at Kaseya Center.

With the challenges and the complexities in dealing with the league salary cap and luxury tax, Elisburg’s knowledge and experience continues to be called upon to build on the team’s unprecedented success. The results of that success include three NBA Championships, seven Eastern Conference Championships, 22 postseason berths in the last 28 years (including a franchise-tying six-straight appearances from 2009-14), 16 division championships and the third-most wins (1,270) in the NBA (the most in the Eastern Conference) since 1995.

During the off-season, Elisburg assists Riley in maneuvering through the framework of the salary cap and the luxury tax to transform the roster, ensuring the HEAT maintains its status as one of the league’s top teams. In one of the most anticipated off-seasons in NBA history, he played an integral role in the HEAT’s successful summer of 2010. His knowledge and expertise of the salary cap proved invaluable as he helped the HEAT re-sign Dwyane Wade and acquire perennial All-Stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh, as well as round out the roster with several key veteran free agent signings to bolster the team’s depth throughout a four-year run in which Miami went to the Finals in each year and won two NBA Championships. In recent years he has played a key role in the acquisitions of Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love and Goran Dragić to help re-shape the HEAT. At the February trade deadline in 2018, Elisburg executed a trade to bring back franchise icon Dwyane Wade, a move which helped propel the HEAT into the playoffs.

In addition to his role with the HEAT, Elisburg also works closely with VP, Basketball Operations/Assistant General Manager Adam Simon and V.P., Player Personnel/Skyforce GM Eric Amsler in overseeing the Basketball Operations for the Skyforce. Since Elisburg played a key role in Miami and Sioux Falls fostering an exclusive partnership 10 years ago, the Skyforce have captured the 2015-16 NBA G League championship, earned at least a share of a division title three times and compiled a 234-175 regular season record. Over the span of the hybrid partnership, the 234 wins and .572 winning percentage recorded by the Skyforce rank second and fourth respectively in the G League.

Elisburg began the HEAT’s inaugural campaign as an intern in the public relations department before becoming a public relations assistant at the end of the season. He has served in many different capacities, including Assistant Director of Public Relations; Director of Team Services and Information; Director of Team Operations; Vice President, Basketball Operations, Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations, Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations/Assistant General Manager and most recently Senior Vice President/General Manager.

A native of Potomac, MD, Elisburg served an internship with the Washington Bullets in the summer of 1988 before coming to the HEAT. He holds a bachelor's degree in sports administration from St. Thomas University where he was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in November of 2017. He was also honored by his alma mater in June of 2004 with their first Leader for Life Award which goes to recognize an alumna/alumnas that has made a significant contribution to their chosen profession. In 2022, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the St. Thomas University graduation ceremony in which he served as a key note speaker.