Nigerian-Born Masai Ujiri named GM of an NBA Team
First African-Born GM in America’s Four Major Sports.
Masai Ujiri
Masai Ujiri’s journey to Raptors front office the stuff of movie scripts
the Raptors’ new GM, has worked his way up the NBA ladder as few have.
He is a native of Zaria, Nigeria.
The son of a doctor mother and a hospital administrator/nursing educationist father...
Toronto Star
June 01, 2013
It has been a path that has been long and circuitous; a journey from a small Nigerian city to a corner suite in an NBA front office, a trek from unpaid scouting work and bunking with friends and colleagues to a position of power and prestige and importance, from volunteering to help to one of only 30 jobs like it on Earth.
To understand how Masai Ujiri got to where he is today — the fifth full-time general manager in Toronto Raptors history — one needs to know where he came from, what the journey was like and to hear a story of perseverance and dedication and the love of a sport that is the stuff of movie scripts.
The 42-year-old Nigerian-born Ujiri, who will be formally introduced as the new Raptors GM this week, has been an itinerant European professional, an unpaid scout working to get his foot in the door and a well-respected supporter of African basketball who has worked his way up the ladder as few have.
The six-foot-four Ujiri spent two seasons at a North Dakota junior college before embarking on a six-year career in Europe. He was smart enough to realize that his game would never take him to the NBA or gain him great fame and fortune; he was just as smart to know he had to remain in the game some way.
“I wasn’t good enough to continue a pro career in terms of making money,” Ujiri told Sports Illustrated in a feature interview. “I saw that it wasn’t going anywhere. So a couple of times I decided to start attending some tournaments.” And that’s where the trip really began.
Through contacts he made, he became an unpaid bird-dog for the Orlando Magic, impressing then general manager John Gabriel and coach Doc Rivers with his knowledge, energy and — in some ways — his willingness to work for no salary.
Ujiri’s reach goes beyond North America still, his ties to his homeland are strong and enduring and his abiding interest in improving facilities and opportunities for young basketball players in Nigeria and throughout Africa is long-standing.
He has worked tirelessly with the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program, he has conducted camps annually for promising Nigerian teens, he helped convince Nike to aid in funding a continent-wide camp for African big men. He is as tied to his native land as he is to the NBA, forever trying to provide better opportunities for kids.
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