Billy King
From Hoopedia
Named team president on May 26, 2003, Billy King enters his 10th season with the Philadelphia 76ers, marking his fourth season as the president of the organization. King oversees all aspects of basketball operations, as well as all facets of business operations. He continues to serve as the 76ers point man for all trades, player procurement and player contract negotiations.
King joined the 76ers on June 2, 1997, as vice president of basketball administration, a role in which he served as the point person for basketball operations. Less than a year later (May 19, 1998), he was promoted to general manager, and on April 5, 2000, he signed a new multi-year contract with the team.
Prior to King’s arrival in Philadelphia, the Sixers posted six-consecutive sub-.500 records, dating back to the 1991-92 season. During his nine-year tenure, the Sixers have made drastic improvements in the win-loss column. In his first season, the squad posted a nine-game improvement, sixth-best in the NBA. In 1998-99, Philadelphia earned its first NBA Playoff appearance since 1990-91 ending a six-year drought and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. The 76ers captured their first Atlantic Division Title on the heels of a 56-26 season in 2000-01 and went on to capture their first Eastern Conference Championship since 1983 to advance to the 2001 NBA Finals. The 2002-03 season marked the 76ers fifth-straight trip to the playoffs, the longest since a 12-year span from 1978to 1987, and the fourth-straight season with 40 or more wins.
Before joining the 76ers, King served as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers under Larry Brown for four seasons. He joined the professional ranks after spending four seasons as an assistant at Illinois State University under former 76ers assistant bench coach Bob Bender. He also spent one year as a color analyst for ESPN's basketball coverage of the Ohio Valley Conference.
During his collegiate career, King was an outstanding defensive player on Duke University's nationally ranked teams in the late 1980s and received the Henry Iba Corinthian National Defensive Player of the Year award following his senior season. King helped the Blue Devils to a 112-27 record, an average of 28 wins per season as Duke went to the Final Four twice, won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship and two ACC Tournament titles. In 1987, he helped the USA Basketball Men’s World University Games silver-medal squad to a 7-1 record, with its only loss coming against a Drazen Petrovic-led Yugoslavia team in the gold medal game.
On May 26, 2005, King was one of nine individuals named to serve on the newly formed USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team Program Advisory Panel. He is currently a member of USA Basketball’s 2005-08 board of directors. He previously was USA Basketball’s treasurer (2001-2004) and was an athlete representative on the 1997-2000executive committee. King also served on the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team Committees for the 1997-2000 and 2001-04 quadrenniums. As a player, he was a member of the 1987 USA World University Games that claimed the silver medal.
King has been honored and recognized by numerous organizations for his dedication and commitment to success. In July 2000, he was honored as the Sports Executive of the Year at the Rainbow Sports Awards, reflecting not only his accomplishments in the sports industry, but also the grace, dignity, commitment and humanity that he exemplifies. In 2001, Street and Smith’s Business Journal named him one the industries "Forty under 40." He was also inducted into Duke University’s Hall of Honor on Dec. 2, 2001, in its charter group. In May 2003, Sports Illustrated named King, along with fellow 76ers Sonny Hill and Allen Iverson, one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports,” a list that included “men and women that are reshaping the sports industry and opening doors through which others will follow.” King also was honored by the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame as the NBA Executive of the Year in July 2003.
Born Jan. 23, 1966, King was a political science major at Duke and follows national and local politics closely. He is also a movie buff and previously hosted his own movie review show for WBNQ-Radio in Bloomington, Ill., titled "Kings Clips."
King resides in suburban Philadelphia with his wife, Melanie and their newborn daughter Natane Alexandra.
