LOCKED AND LOADED TO SUSTAIN SUCCESS Jon Horst, General Manager of Milwaukee Bucks, shares an insight into his career in the NBA, the development of athlete welfare, the financial impact of winning, as well as building the foundations off-court to sustain success on-court. Milwaukee Bucks. NBA Champions. The 2021 championship represented a landmark achievement for a city that hasn’t seen its NBA team win a title in half a century. One of the influential figures in the Bucks’ triumph has been Jon Horst, who made a name for himself previously by taking home the 2019 NBA Executive of the Year award and has now helped steer the Bucks to success. Journey to NBA Champion When Jon Horst was hired as General Manager by 4 | OTFF ISSUE 18 ★ DECEMBER 2021
the Milwaukee Bucks, he became the youngest basketball executive for an NBA team. Horst recalled how he made his entrance into the NBA: “I’ve loved basketball my entire life. I played and participated in basketball from the time I was about four or five-yearsold, and I still play two or three times a week today.” Horst touched on how the world of professional sport offers much more opportunity today compared to when he was first looking for a career in sport. At the time, the idea of joining the front office staff seemed less likely than
becoming a coach, which Horst considered first. “When I played in college, I wanted to stay involved in basketball in some form for as long as I could, as a career. My mind was, I love the game of basketball, I love the business, I love creativity, I love strategies – I want to be involved in this game.” To pursue his goals, Horst attended Rochester College due to its close proximity to the Detroit Pistons – who at the time were headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan – with the ambition of getting a chance to work for the franchise in some way. The decision paid off and Horst earned an internship with the Pistons in an administrative role in which he stayed in for just over two years, even after he graduated college. At the Pistons, Horst worked under Vice President of Basketball Operations John Hammond during one of the franchises most successful runs in NBA ➡
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
