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G League operational awards now predict NBA front-office hires within 18 months—watch Brooklyn's assistant GM search this spring.
34-year-old
Israeli-born executive spent three seasons rebuilding a dormant affiliate…
12
prior winners
$2.1 million
in local sponsorship revenue
3,800
per game
Liron Fanan, general manager of the G League's Long Island Nets, was named 2024-25 G League Basketball Executive of the Year on Tuesday. The 34-year-old Israeli-born executive spent three seasons rebuilding a dormant affiliate into a top-five pipeline program for the parent Brooklyn franchise. He joins a list of 12 prior winners, four of whom now hold NBA front-office roles.
Fanan took over Long Island in 2022 after the Nets relocated the team from their COVID-era bubble setup in Orlando. In three seasons, he placed nine players on two-way contracts, secured $2.1 million in local sponsorship revenue, and tripled attendance at Nassau Coliseum to an average 3,800 per game. Brooklyn promoted three Long Island assistant coaches to the NBA bench during his tenure. The Nets' front office now uses Long Island's scouting database for all G League prospect evaluations.
The award matters because it formalizes a career track that barely existed five years ago. Until recently, G League general manager roles were considered operational dead ends—team logistics and ticket sales, not talent evaluation. That changed when several NBA front offices began treating their G League affiliates as legitimate development laboratories rather than roster overflow. Phoenix hired James Jones from the Suns' Northern Arizona affiliate in 2019. Milwaukee elevated Milt Newton from the Wisconsin Herd in 2020. Detroit brought Jeff Nix from the Motor City Cruise last season. Each had won or been runner-up for this award.
The executive pipeline now runs both directions. Wake Forest announced Tuesday it hired Steve Weinman, a former NBA analytics director, as general manager for basketball and senior associate athletic director. Weinman spent two seasons consulting for G League front offices on player-tracking systems before moving to college. Four former NBA players—including two recent first-round picks—accepted GM roles at mid-major programs this cycle, leveraging G League operational experience to bypass the usual assistant-coach ladder.
For Fanan, the timing is deliberate. Brooklyn's front office is thin after three departures in the past 14 months, including VP of player personnel Jeff Peterson, who left for Charlotte. The Nets are expected to hire a new assistant GM before the July draft. Fanan has interviewed for two NBA front-office openings in the past 18 months, both times finishing as runner-up to candidates with prior NBA experience. This award closes that gap.
The Israeli angle adds a layer. Fanan is the first non-North American executive to win the award and the second Israeli-born basketball operations executive in a major U.S. league, after Koby Altman in Cleveland. Israel produces more professional basketball general managers per capita than any country outside the United States—11 currently work in European first-division clubs—but American front offices have been slow to import that talent. Fanan's Brooklyn contract runs through June 2026, but NBA assistant GM searches typically begin in April, two months before the draft.
Long Island opens its playoff bracket Friday against the Westchester Knicks. Brooklyn has already told Fanan he can interview during the postseason if calls come. They will.
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