Voting for NBA Executive of the Year takes into account more than just the number of wins a team has at the end of the season. It's a larger body of work that a front office man is judged on. It's unclear what value is placed on incredibly lengthy resignation letters, but by today's voting results, there may be some.
San Antonio Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford took home the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award today for the second time in his 14-year career with the Spurs.
"Buford totaled 77 points and received nine of 29 first-place votes from a panel of fellow team basketball executives throughout the NBA," the League said in a release. "The Portland Trail Blazers' Neil Olshey finished second with 63 points (10 first-place votes), and 2014-15 winner Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors was third with 38 points (five first-place votes). Executives were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote."
But none of that is why we are here.
Not mentioned in the release but shown in the vote totals was none other than former Sixers' GM Sam Hinkie who received multiple votes.
Hinkie received one second-place vote and two third-place votes leaving just 9 other team executives ranked ahead of him. OKC's Sam Presti had the same number of voting points as Hinkie.
As mentioned in the release, the voting is done by fellow NBA executives, a group among which Hinkie is more respected than say the media or player agents.
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Just to reiterate, another NBA executive believed Sam Hinkie was the second-best executive in the League this past season.
Hinkie stepped down from his role with the Sixers on April 7th and was replaced by Jerry Colangelo's son, Bryan.
