2022-23 NBA Awards

Kings GM Monte McNair named NBA Basketball Executive of the Year

Thanks to Monte McNair's roster moves, the Kings went from a lottery team in 2021-22 to the Pacific Division champs in 2022-23.

From NBA.com Staff

Monte McNair (left) has served as GM of the Kings since 2020.

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair was named the 2022-23 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year, the NBA announced on Wednesday. McNair finished with 98 total points, beating out Cleveland Cavaliers GM Koby Altman (66 points), Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik (20) and Denver Nuggets GM Calvin Booth (20) for the honors.

McNair is the third person in the Kings organization to take home an award for the 2022-23 season, joining coach Mike Brown and swingman De’Aaron Fox. Brown was the unanimous winner of the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, while the All-Star guard Fox was the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year winner.

The Kings hired McNair as their GM on Sept. 16, 2020. He previously worked in the Rockets’ front office since 2007, most recently as the assistant general manager under Daryl Morey. McNair was promoted to the assistant GM role in 2018.

The Kings went 31-41 in his first season and 30-52 last season, but enjoyed a big turnaround in 2022-23, going 48-34 to claim the Pacific Division title and end a 16-year playoff drought. McNair’s roster moves in the summer of 2022 were crucial as his trade for Kevin Huerter, signing of Malik Monk and drafting of Keegan Murray helped spur the turnaround for a team built around Fox and fellow All-Star Domantas Sabonis.

A Princeton graduate, McNair has an extensive analytics background and has been a speaker at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

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